AND  HIS 

MOTOR  BOAT 


VICTOR 


University  of  California  •  Berkeley 

DONALD  SIDNEY-FRYER 
COLLECTION 


WITH  A  SWIRI,  o*  THE  SCREW  THE  ARROW  SHOT  our 

THE  WAY,   CARRYING  THE  AERONAUT  WITH  HER. 
ft*  Swift  •**  hit  M*t+r  **+* 


TOM   SWIFT  AND 
HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 


BY 

VICTOR  APPLETON 

01  "TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-CYCLE,"  "TOM  SWIFT  AND 
SHIP,"  "TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT,"  ETC. 


ILLUSTRATED 


NEW  YORK 
GROSSET    &    DUNLAP 

PUBLISHERS 

Made  in  the  United  States  of  America 


BOOKS  BY  VICTOR  APPLETON 
THE  TOM  SWIFT  SERIES 

TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-CYCLE 

Or  Fun  and  Adventure  on  the  Road 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Or  the  Rivals  of  Lake  Carlopa 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  AIRSHIP 

Or  the  Stirring  Cruise  of  the  Red  Cloud 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  SUBMARINE  BOAT 

Or  Under  the  Ocean  for  Sunken  Treasure* 
TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  ELECTRIC  RUNABOUT 

Or  the  Speediest  Car  on  the  Road 

(Other  Volumes  in  preparation) 
lame.    Cloth.    Illustrated 


GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 
PUBLISHERS  NEW  YORK 


COPYRIGHT,  1910,  BY 
GROSSET  &  DUNLAP 

Tom  Swift  and  His  Motor-Boat 


CONTENTS 

CHAPTER  PAG» 

I    A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION I 

II    SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING 12 

III  A  TIMELY  WARNING 24 

IV  TOM  AND  ANDY  CLASH 32 

V    A  TEST  OF  SPEED 38 

VI    TOWING  SOME  GIRLS 52 

VII    A  BRUSH  WITH  ANDY 60 

VIII    OFF  ON  A  TRIP 68 

IX    MR.  SWIFT  is  ALARMED 78 

X    A  CRY  FOR  HELP 87 

XI    A  QUICK  RUN 94 

XII    SUSPICIOUS  CHARACTERS 103 

XIII  TOM  IN  DANGER in 

XIV  THE  ARROW  DISAPPEARS 118 

XV    A  DAMAGING  STATEMENT 125 

XVI    STILL  ON  THE  SEARCH 135 

XVII    "THERE  SHE  is!" 141 

XVIII    THE  PURSUIT 153 

XIX    A  QUIET  CRUISE 159 

XX    NEWS  OF  A  ROBBERY i6/ 

ui 


'CONTENTS 


CHAPTER 

XXI  THE  BALLOON  ON  FIRE  ......................  J73 

XXII  THE  RESCUE  ................................  179 

XXIII  PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP  .....................  189 

XXIV  THE  MYSTERY  SOLVED  .......................  198 

XXV  WINNING  A  RACE  ..........................  •  206 


TOM    SWIFT    AND    HIS 
MOTOR-BOAT 

CHAPTER  I 

A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION 

"WHERE  are  you  going,  Tom?"  asked  Mr. 
Barton  Swift  of  his  son  as  the  young  man  was 
slowly  pushing  his  motor-cycle  out  of  the  yard 
toward  the  country  road.  "You  look  as  though 
you  had  some  object  in  view." 

"So  I  have,  dad.    I'm  going  over  to  Lanton.* 

"ToLanton?    What  for?" 

"I  want  to  have  a  look  at  that  motor-boat." 

"Which  boat  is  that,  Tom  ?  I  don't  recall  your 
speaking  about  a  boat  over  at  Lanton.  What  do 
you  want  to  look  at  it  for  ?" 

"It's  the  motor-boat  those  fellows  had  who 
tried  to  get  away  with  your  turbine  model  inven- 
tion, dad.  The  one  they  used  at  the  old  General 
Harkness  mansion,  in.the  woods  near  the  lake,  and 
the  same  boat  that  fellow  used  when  he  got  away 
from  me  the  day  I  was  chasing  him  here/' 

i 


2          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Oh,  yes,  I  remember  now.  But  what  is  the 
boat  doing  over  at  Lanton  >" 

"That's  where  it  belongs.  It's  the  property  of 
Mr.  Bently  Hastings.  The  thieves  stole  it  from 
him,  and  when  they  ran  away  from  the  old  man- 
sion, the  time  Mr.  Damon  and  I  raided  the  place, 
they  left  the  boat  on  the  lake.  I  turned  it  over  to 
the  county  authorities,  and  they  found  out  it  be- 
longed to  Mr.  Hastings.  He  has  it  back  now,  but 
I  understand  it's  somewhat  damaged,  and  he 
wants  to  get  rid  of  it.  He's  going  to  sell  it  at 
auction  to-day,  and  I  thought  I'd  go  over  and  take 
a  look  at  it.  You  see " 

"Yes,  I  see,  Tom,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Swift  with 
a  laugh.  "I  see  what  you're  aiming  at.  You 
want  a  motor-boat,  and  you're  going  all  around 
Robin  Hood's  barn  to  get  at  it." 

"No,  dad,  I  only " 

"Oh,  I  know  you,  Tom,  my  lad!"  interrupted 
the  inventor,  shaking  his  finger  at  his  son,  who 
seemed  somewhat  confused.  "You  have  a  nice 
rowing  skiff  and  a  sailboat,  yet  you  are  hanker- 
ing for  a  motor-boat.  Come  now,  own  up.  Aren't 
you?" 

"Well,  dad,  a  motor-boat  certainly  would  go 
fine  on  Lake  Carlopa.  There's  plenty  of  room  to 
speed  her,  and  I  wonder  there  aren't  more  of  them. 
I  was  going  to  see  what  Mr.  Hastings'  boat  would 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION  3 

sell  for,  but  I  didn't  exactly  think  of  buying  it 
Still •" 

"But  you  wouldn't  buy  a  damaged  boat,  would 
you?" 

"It  isn't  much  damaged,"  and  in  his  eagerness 
the  young  inventor  (for  Tom  Swift  had  taken 
out  several  patents)  stood  his  motor-cycle  up 
against  the  fence  and  came  closer  to  his  father. 
"It's  only  slightly  damaged,"  he  went  on.  "I  can 
easily  fix  it.  I  looked  it  all  over  before  I  gave  it 
in  charge  of  the  authorities,  and  it's  certainly  a 
fine  boat.  It's  worth  nine  hundred  dollars — or  it 
was  when  it  was  new." 

"That's  a  good  deal  of  money  for  a  boat,"  and 
Mr.  Swift  looked  serious,  for  though  he  was  well 
off,  he  was  inclined  to  be  conservative. 

"Oh,  I  shouldn't  think  of  paying  that  much. 
In  fact,  dad,  I  really  had  no  idea  of  bidding  at 
the  auction.  I  only  thought  I'd  go  over  and  get 
an  idea  of  what  the  boat  might  sell  for.  Perhaps 
some  day " 

Tom  paused.  Since  his  father  had  begun  to 
question  him  some  new  plans  had  come  into  the 
lad's  head.  He  looked  at  his  parent  and  saw  a 
smile  beginning  to  work  around  the  corners  of 
Mr.  Swift's  lips.  There  was  also  a  humorous 
look  in  the  eyes  of  the  older  inventor.  He  under- 


4          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

stood  boys  fairly  well,  even  if  he  only  had  one, 
and  he  knew  Tom  perfectly. 

"Would  you  really  like  to  make  a  bid  on  that 
boat,  Tom?"  he  asked. 

"Would  I,  dad?  Well "  The  youth  did 

not  finish,  but  his  father  knew  what  he  meant. 

"I  suppose  a  motor-boat  would  be  a  nice  thing 
to  have  on  Lake  Carfopa,"  went  on  Mr.  Swift 
musingly.  "You  and  I  could  take  frequent  trips 
in  it.  It  isn't  like  a  motor-cycle,  only  useful  for 
one.  What  do  you  suppose  the  boat  will  go  for, 
Tom?" 

"I  hardly  know.  Not  a  higH  price,  I  believe, 
for  motor-boats  are  so  new  on  our  lake  that  few 
persons  will  take  a  chance  on  them.  But  if  Mr. 
Hastings  is  getting  another,  he  will  not  be  so  par- 
ticular about  insisting  on  a  high  price  for  the  old 
one.  Then,  too,  the  fact  that  it  is  damaged  will 
help  to  keep  the  price  down,  though  I  know  I  can 
easily  put  it  in  good  shape.  I  would  like  to  make 
a  bid,  if  you  think  it's  all  right." 

"Well,  I  guess  you  may,  Tom,  if  you  really 
want  it.  You  have  money  of  your  own  and  a 
motor-boat  is  not  a  bad  investment.  What  do  you 
think  ought  to  be  the  limit  ?" 

"Would  you  consider  a  hundred  and  fifty  dol- 
lars too  high  ?" 

Mr.  Swift  looked  at  Tom  critically.    He  was 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION  5 

plainly  going  over  several  matters  in  his  mind, 
and  not  the  least  of  them  was  the  pluck  his  son 
had  shown  in  getting  back  some  valuable  papers 
and  a  model  from  a  gang  of  thieves.  The  lad 
:ertainly  was  entitled  to  some  reward,  and  to  al- 
low him  to  get  a  boat  might  properly  be  part  of  it. 

"I  think  you  could  safely  go  as  high  as  two 
hundred  dollars,  Tom,"  said  Mr.  Swift  at  length. 
"That  would  be  my  limit  on  a  damaged  boat,  for 
it  might  be  better  to  pay  a  little  more  and  get  a 
new  one.  However,  use  your  own  judgment, 
but  don't  go  over  two  hundred.  So  the  thieves 
who  made  so  much  trouble  for  me  stole  that  boat 
from  Mr.  Hastings,  eh?" 

"Yes,  and  they  didn't  take  much  care  of  it 
either.  They  damaged  the  engine,  but  the  hull  is 
in  good  shape.  I'm  ever  so  glad  you'll  let  me  bid 
on  it.  I'll  start  right  off.  The  auction  is  at  ten 
o'clock  and  I  haven't  more  than  time  to  get  there." 

"Now  be  careful  how  you  bid.  Don't  raise  your 
own  figures,  as  I've  sometimes  seen  women  and 
men,  too,  do  in  their  excitement.  Somebody  may 
go  over  your  head,  and  if  he  does,  let  them.  If 
you  get  the  boat  I'll  be  very  glad  on  your  account. 
But  don't  bring  any  of  Anson  Morse's  gang  back 
in  it  with  you.  I've  seen  enough  of  them." 

"I'll  not,  dad!"  cried  Tom  as  he  trundled  his 
motor-cycle  out  of  the  gate  and  into  the  country 


6          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

road  that  led  to  the  village  of  Shop  ton,  where  he 
lived,  and  to  Lanton,  where  the  auction  was  to  be 
held.  The  young  inventor  had  not  gone  far  be- 
fore he  turned  back,  leaving  his  machine  standing 
on  the  side  path. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  his  father,  who 
had  started  toward  one  of  several  machine  shops 
on  the  premises — shops  where  Mr.  Swift  and  his 
son  did  inventive  work. 

"Guess  I'd  better  get  a  blank  check  and  some 
money,"  replied  Tom  as  he  entered  the  house. 
"I'll  need  to  pay  a  deposit  if  I  secure  the  boat." 

"That's  so.  Well,  good  luck,"  and  with  his 
mind  busy  on  a  plan  for  a  new  kind  of  storage 
battery,  the  inventor  went  on  to  his  workroom. 
Tom  got  some  cash  and  his  check  book  from  a 
small  safe  he  owned  and  was  soon  speeding  over 
the  road  to  Lanton,  his  motor-cycle  making  quite 
a  cloud  of  dust.  While  he  is  thus  hurrying  along 
to  the  auction  I  will  tell  you  something  about  him. 

Tom  Swift,  son  of  Barton  Swift,  lived  with  his 
father  and  a  motherly  housekeeper,  Mrs.  Baggert, 
in  a  large  house  on  the  outskirts  of  the  town  of 
Shopton,  in  New  York  State.  Mr.  Swift  had 
acquired  considerable  wealth  from  his  many  in- 
ventions and  patents,  but  he  did  not  give  up  work- 
ing out  his  ideas  simply  because  he  had  plenty  of 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION  7 

money.  Tom  followed  in  the  footsteps  of  his 
parent  and  had  already  taken  out  several  patents. 

Shortly  before  this  story  opens  the  youth  had 
become  possessed  of  a  motor-cycle  in  a  peculiar 
fashion.  As  told  in  the  first  volume  of  this  series, 
entitled  "Tom  Swift  and  His  Motor-Cycle,"  Tom 
was  riding  to  the  town  of  Mansburg  on  an  errand 
for  his  father  one  day  when  he  was  nearly  run 
down  by  a  motor  cyclist.  A  little  later  the  same 
motor  cyclist,  who  was  a  Mr.  Wakefield  Damon, 
of  Waterfield,  collided  with  a  tree  near  Tom's 
home  and  was  severely  cut  and  bruised,  the  ma- 
chine being  broken.  Tom  and  his  father  cared  for 
the  injured  rider,  and  Mr.  Damon,  who  was  an 
eccentric  individual,  was  so  disheartened  by  his  at- 
tempts to  ride  the  motor-cycle  that  he  sold  it  to 
Tom  for  fifty  dollars,  though  it  had  cost  much 
more. 

About  the  same  time  that  Tom  bought  the 
motor-cycle  a  firm  of  rascally  lawyers,  Smeak  & 
Katch  by  name,  had,  in  conjunction  with  several 
men,  made  an  attempt  to  get  control  of  an  in- 
vention of  a  turbine  motor  perfected  by  Mr.  Swift. 
The  men,  who  were  Ferguson  Appleson,  Anson 
Morse,  Wilson  Featherton,  alias  Simpson,  and 
Jake  Burke,  alias  Happy  Harry,  who  sometimes 
disguised  himself  as  a  tramp,  tried  several  times 
to  steal  the  model. 


8          TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Their  anxiety  to  get  it  was  due  to  the  fact  that 
they  had  invested  a  large  sum  in  a  turbine  motor 
invented  by  another  man,  but  their  motor  would 
not  work  and  they  sought  to  steal  Mr.  Swift's. 
Tom  was  sent  to  Albany  on  his  motor-cycle  to 
deliver  the  model  and  some  valuable  papers  to  Mr. 
Crawford,  of  the  law  firm  of  Reid  &  Crawford, 
of  Washington,  attorneys  for  Mr.  Swift.  Mr. 
Crawford  had  an  errand  in  Albany  and  had 
agreed  to  meet  Tom  there  with  the  model. 

But,  on  the  way,  Tom  was  attacked  by  the  gang 
of  unscrupulous  men  and  the  model  was  stolen. 
He  was  assaulted  and  carried  far  away  in  an 
automobile.  In  an  attempt  to  capture  the  gang 
in  a  deserted  mansion,  in  the  woods  on  the  shore 
of  Lake  Carlopa,  Tom  was  aided  by  Mr.  Damon, 
of  whom  he  had  purchased  the  motor-cycle.  The 
men  escaped,  however,  and  nothing  could  be  done 
to  punish  them. 

Tom  was  thinking  of  the  exciting  scenes  he 
had  passed  through  about  a  month  previous  as 
he  spun  along  the  road  leading  to  Lanton. 

"I  hope  I  don't  meet  Happy  Harry  or  any  of 
his  gang  to-day,"  mused  the  lad  as  he  turned  on 
a  little  more  power  to  enable  his  machine  to  mount 
a  hill.  "I  don't  believe  they'll  attend  the  auction, 
though.  It  would  be  too  risky  for  them." 

As  Tom  swung  along  at  a  rapid  pace  he  heard, 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION  $ 

behind  him,  the  puffing;  of  an  automobile,  with  the 
muffler  cut  out.  He  turned  and  cast  a  hasty 
glance  behind. 

"I  hope  that  ain't  Andy  Foger  or  any  of  his 
cronies/'  he  said  to  himself.  "He  might  try  to 
run  me  down  just  for  spite.  He  generally  rushes 
along  with  the  muffler  open  so  as  to  attract  atten- 
tion and  make  folks  think  he  has  a  racing  car." 

It  was  not  Andy,  however,  as  Tom  saw  a  little 
later,  as  a  man  passed  him  in  a  big  touring  car. 
Andy  Foger,  as  my  readers  will  recollect,  was  a 
red-haired,  squinty-eyed  lad  with  plenty  of  money 
and  not  much  else.  He  and  his  cronies,  including 
Sam  Snedecker,  nearly  ran  Tom  down  one  day, 
when  the  latter  was  on  his  bicycle,  as  told  in  the 
first  volume  of  this  series.  Andy  had  been  off  on 
a  tour  with  his  chums  during  the  time  when  Tom 
was  having  such  strenuous  adventures  and  had 
recently  returned. 

"If  I  can  only  get  that  boat,"  mused  Tom  as 
he  swung  back  into  the  middle  of  the  road  after 
the  auto  had  passed  him,  "I  certainly  will  have 
lots  of  fun.  I'll  make  a  week's  tour  of  Lake 
Carlopa  and  take  dad  and  Ned  Newton  with  me." 
Ned  was  Tom's  most  particular  chum,  but  as 
young  Newton  was  employed  in  the  Shopton 
bank,  the  lad  did  not  have  much  time  for  pleasure. 
Lake  Carlopa  was  a  large  body  of  water.,  and  it 


10        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

would  take  a  moderately  powered  boat  several 
days  to  make  a  complete  circuit  of  the  shore,  so 
cut  up  into  bays  and  inlets  was  it. 

In  about  an  hour  Tom  was  at  Lanton,  and  as 
he  neared  the  home  of  Mr.  Hastings,  which  was 
on  the  shore  of  the  lake,  he  saw  quite  a  throng 
going  down  toward  the  boathouse. 

"There'll  be  some  lively  bidding,"  thought 
Tom  as  he  got  off  his  machine  and  pushed  it 
ahead  of  him  through  the  drive  and  down  toward 
the  river.  "I  hope  they  don't  go  above  two  hun- 
dred dollars,  though." 

"Get  out  the  way  there !"  called  a  sudden  voice, 
and  looking  back,  Tom  saw  that  an  automobile 
had  crept  up  silently  behind  him.  In  it  were  Andy 
Foger  and  Sam  Snedecker.  "Why  don't  you  get 
out  the  way  ?"  petulantly  demanded  the  red-haired 
lad. 

"Because  I  don't  choose  to,"  replied  Tom 
calmly,  knowing  that  Andy  would  never  dare  to 
speed  up  his  machine  on  the  slope  leading  down 
to  the  lake. 

"Go  ahead,  bump  him!"  the  young  inventor 
heard  Sam  whisper^ 

"You'd  better  try  it,  if  you  want  to  get  the  best 
trouncing  you  ever  had !"  cried  Tom  hotly. 

"Hu !  I  s'pose  you  think  you're  going  to  bid  on 
the  boat  ?"  sneered  Andy. 


A  MOTOR-BOAT  AUCTION  n 

"Is  there  any  law  against  it  ?"  asked  Tom. 

"Hu!  Well,  you'll  not  get  it.  I'm  going  to 
take  that  boat,"  retorted  the  squint-eyed  bully. 
"Dad  gave  me  the  money  to  get  it" 

"All  right,"  answered  Tom  non-committally. 
"Go  ahead.  It's  a  free  country." 

He  stood  his  motor-cycle  up  against  a  tree  and 
went  toward  a  group  of  persons  who  were  sur- 
rounding the  auctioneer.  The  time  had  arrived  to 
start  the  sale.  As  Tom  edged  in  closer  he  brushed 
against  a  man  who  looked  at  him  sharply.  The 
lad  was  just  wondering  if  he  had  ever  seen  the 
individual  before,  as  there  seemed  to  be  something 
strangely  familiar  about  him,  when  the  man 
turned  quickly  away,  as  if  afraid  of  being  recog- 
nized. 

"That's  odd,"  thought  Tom,  but  he  had  no  fur- 
ther time  for  speculation,  as  the  auctioneer  was 
mounting  on  a  soap  box  and  had  begun  to  ad- 
dress the  gathering. 


CHAPTER  II 

SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING 

"ATTENTION,  people!"  cried  the  auctioneer. 
"Give  me  your  attention  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
We  will  proceed  with  the  business  in  hand.  As 
you  all  know,  I  am  about  to  dispose  of  a  fine 
motor-boat,  the  property  of  Mr.  Bently  Hastings. 
The  reason  for  disposing  of  it  at  auction  is  known 
to  most  of  you,  but  for  the  benefit  of  those  who 
do  not,  I  will  briefly  state  them.  The  boat  was 
stolen  by  a  gang  of  thieves  and  recovered  recently 
through  the  efforts  of  a  young  man,  Thomas 
Swift,  son  of  Barton  Swift,  our  fellow-townsman, 
of  Shopton."  At  that  moment  the  auctioneer, 
Jacob  Wood,  caught  sight  of  Tom  in  the  press, 
and,  looking  directly  at  the  lad,  continued : 

"I  understand  that  young  Mr.  Swift  is  here 
to-day,  and  I  hope  he  intends  to  bid  on  this  boat. 
If  he  does,  the  bidding  will  be  lively,  for  Tom 
Swift  is  a  lively  young  man.  I  wish  I  could  say 
that  sorrtf  of  the  men  who  stole  the  boat  were  here 
to-day." 

12 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  13 

The  auctioneer  paused  and  there  were  some 
murmurs  from  those  in  the  throng  as  to  why  such 
a  wish  should  be  uttered.  Tom  felt  some  one 
moving  near  him,  and,  looking  around,  he  saw  the 
same  man  with  whom  he  had  come  in  contact 
before.  The  person  seemed  desirous  of  getting 
out  on  the  edge  of  the  crowd,  and  Tom  felt  a  re- 
turn of  his  vague  suspicions.  He  looked  closely 
at  the  fellow,  but  could  trace  no  resemblance  to 
any  of  the  men  who  had  so  daringly  stolen  his 
father's  model. 

"The  reason  I  wisK  they  were  here  to-day/' 
went  on  Mr.  Wood,  "is  that  the  men  did  some 
slight  damage  to  the  boat,  and!  if  they  were  here 
to-day  we  would  make  them  pay  for  it.  However, 
the  damage  is  slight  and  can  easily  be  repaired. 
I  mention  that  as  Mr.  Hastings  desired  me  to. 
Now  we  will  proceed  with  the  bidding,  and  I  will 
say  that  an  opportunity  will  first  be  given  all  to 
examine  the  boat.  Perhaps  Tom  Swift  will  give 
us  his  opinion  on  the  state  it  is  in,  as  we  know  he 
is  well  qualified  to  talk  about  machinery." 

All  eyes  were  turned  on  Tom,  for  many  knew 
him. 

"Humph !  I  guess  I  know  as  much  about  boats 
and  motors  as  he  does,"  sneered  Andy  Foger. 
"He  isn't  the  only  one  in  this  crowd !  Why  didn't 
the  auctioneer  ask  me  ?" 


14        TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Keep  quiet,"  begged  Sam  Snedecker.  "Peo- 
ple are  laughing  at  you,  Andy." 

"I  don't  care  if  they  are,"  muttered  the  sandy- 
haired  youth.  "Tom  Swift  needn't  think  he's 
everything." 

"If  you  will  come  down  to  the  dock,"  went  on 
the  auctioneer,  "you  can  all  see  the  boat,  and  I 
would  be  glad  to  have  young  Mr.  Swift  give  us 
the  benefit  of  his  advice." 

The  throng  trooped  down  to  the  lake,  and, 
blushing  somewhat,  Tom  told  what  was  the  mat- 
ter with  the  motor  and  how  it  could  be  fixed.  It 
was  noticed  that  there  was  less  enthusiasm  over 
the  matter  than  there  had  been,  for  certainly  the 
engine,  rusty  and  out  of  order  as  it  was,  did  not 
present  an  attractive  sight  Tom  noted  that  the 
man  who  had  acted  so  strangely  did  not  come 
down  to  the  dock. 

"Guess  he  can't  be  much  interested  in  the  mo- 
tor," decided  Tom. 

"Now  then,  if  it's  all  the  same  to  you  folks, 
I'll  proceed  with  the  auction  here,"  went  on  Mr. 
tWood.  "You  can  all  see  the  boat  from  here.  It 
is,  as  you  see,  a  regular  family  launch  and  will 
carry  twelve  persons  comfortably.  With  a  canopy 
fitted  to  it  a  person  could  cruise  all  about  the  lake 
and  stay  out  over  night,  for  you  could  sleep  on 
the  seat  cushions.  It  is  twenty-one  feet  in  length 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  15 

and  has  a  five-and-a-half-foot  beam,  the  design 
being  what  is  known  as  a  compromise  stern.  The 
motor  is  a  double-cylinder  two-cycle  one,  of  ten 
horse-power.  It  has  a  float-feed  carburetor,  me- 
chanical oiler,  and  the  ignition  system  is  the  jump- 
spark — the  best  for  this  style  of  motor.  The  boat 
will  make  ten  miles  an  hour,  with  twelve  in,  and, 
of  course,  more  than  that  with  a  lighter  load.  A 
good  deal  will  depend  on  the  way  the  motor  is 
managed. 

"Now,  as  you  know,  Mr.  Hastings  wishes  to 
dispose  of  the  boat  partly  because  he  does  not 
wish  to  repair  it  and  partly  because  he  has  a 
newer  and  larger  one.  The  craft,  which  is  named 
Carlopa  by  the  way,  cost  originally  nine  hundred 
dollars.  It  could  not  be  purchased  new  to-day,  in 
many  places,  for  a  thousand.  Now  what  am  I 
offered  in  its  present  condition?  Will  any  one 
make  an  offer?  Will  you  give  me  five  hundred 
dollars  ?' 

The  auctioneer  paused  and  looked  critically  at 
the  throng.  Several  persons  smiled.  Tom  looked 
worried.  He  had  no  idea  that  the  price  would 
start  so  high. 

"Well,  perhaps  that  is  a  bit  stiff/'  went  on  Mr. 
Wood.  "Shall  we  say  four  hundred  dollars? 
Come  now,  I'm  sure  it's  worth  four  hundred. 
Who'll  start  it  at  four  hundred?" 


16        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

No  one  would,  and  the  auctioneer  descended  to 
three  hundred,  then  to  two  and  finally,  as  if  im- 
patient, he  called  out : 

"Well,  will  any  one  start  at  fifty  dollars?" 

Instantly  there  were  several  cries  of  "I  will !" 
•  "I  thought  you  would,"  went  on  the  auctioneer. 
"Now  we  will  get  down  to  work.  I'm  offered 
fifty  dollars  for  this  twenty-one  foot,  ten  horse- 
power family  launch.  Will  any  one  make  it 
sixty?" 

"Sixty!"  called  out  Andy  Foger  in  a  shrill 
voice.  Several  turned  to  look  at  him. 

"I  didn't  know  he  was  going  to  bid,"  thought 
Tonx  "He  may  go  above  me.  He's  got  plenty 
of  money,  and,  while  I  have  too,  I'm  not  going 
to  pay  too  much  for  a  damaged  boat." 

"Sixty  I'm  bid,  sixty—sixty !"  cried  Mr.  Wood 
in  a  sing-song  tone,  "who'll  make  it  seventy  ?" 

"Sixty-five!"  spoke  a  quiet  voice  at  Tom's  el- 
bow, and  he  turned  to  see  the  mysterious  man 
who  had  joined  the  crowd  at  the  edge  of  the  lake. 

"Sixty-five  from  the  gentleman  in  the  white 
straw  hat !"  called  Mr.  Wood  with  a  smile  at  his 
wit,  for  there  were  many  men  wearing  white 
straw  hats,  the  day  being  a  warm  one  in  June. 

"Here,  who's  bidding  above  me?"  exclaimed 
Andy,  as  if  it  was  against  the  law. 

"I  guess  you'll  find  a  number  going  ahead  o# 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  17 

you,  my  young  friend,"  remarked  the  auctioneer. 
"Will  you  have  the  goodness  not  to  interrupt  me, 
except  when  you  want  to  bid  ?" 

"Well,  I  offered  sixty/'  said  the  squint-eyed 
bully,  while  his  crony,  Sam  Snedecker,  was  vainly 
pulling  at  his  sleeve. 

"I  know  you  did,  and  this  gentleman  went 
above  you.  If  you  want  to  bid  more  you  can  do 
so.  I'm  offered  sixty-five,  sixty-five  I'm  offered 
for  this  boat.  Will  any  one  make  it  seventy-five  ?" 

Mr.  Wood  looked  at  Tom,  and  our  hero,  think- 
ing it  was  time  for  him  to  make  a  bid,  offered 
seventy. 

"Seventy  from  Tom  Swift !"  cried  the  auction- 
eer. "There  is  a  lad  who  knows  a  motor-boat 
from  stem  to  stern,  if  those  are  the  right  words. 
I  don't  know  much  about  boats  except  what  I'm 
told,  but  Tom  Swift  does.  Now,  if  he  bids,  you 
people  ought  to  know  that  it's  all  right  I'm  bid 
seventy — seventy  I'm  bid.  Will  any  one  make  it 
eighty?" 

"Eighty !"  exclaimed  Andy  Foger  after  a  whis- 
pered conference  with  Sam.  "I  know  as  much 
about  boats  as  Tom  Swift.  I'll  make  it  eighty." 

"No  side  remarks.  I'll  do  most  of  the  talking. 
You  just  bid,  young  man/'  remarked  Mr.  Wood. 
"I  have  eighty  bid  for  this  boat — eighty  dollars. 
Why,  my  friends,  I  can't  understand  this.  I 


\8        TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

ought  to  have  it  up  to  three  hundred  dollars,  at 
least.  But  I  thank  you  all  the  same.  We  are 
coming  on.  I'm  bid  eighty " 

"Ninety!"  exclaimed  the  quiet  man  at  Tom's 
slbow.  He  was  continually  fingering  his  upper 
lip,  as  though  he  had  a  mustache  there,  but  his 
face  was  clean-shaven.  He  looked  around  ner- 
vously as  he  spoke. 

"Ninety !"  called  out  the  auctioneer. 

"Ninety-five!"  returned  Tom.  Anrly  Foger 
scowled  at  him,  but  the  young  investor  only 
smiled.  It  was  evident  that  the  bully  did  not  relish 
being  bid  against.  He  and  his  crony  whispered 
together  again. 

"One  hundred !"  called  Andy,  as  if  no  one  would 
dare  go  above  that. 

"I'm  offered  an  even  hundred,"  resumed  Mr. 
[Wood.  "We  are  certainly  coming  on.  A  hun- 
dred I  am  bid,  a  hundred — a  hundred — &  hun- 
dred  " 

"And  five,"  said  the  strange  man  hastily,  and 
he  seemed  to  choke  as  he  uttered  the  words. 
4  "Oh,  come  now ;  we  ought  to  have  at  least  ten- 
dollar  bids  from  now  on,"  suggested  Mr.  Wood. 
"Won't  you  make  it  a  hundred  and  ten?"  The 
auctioneer  looked  directly  at  the  man,  who  seemed 
to  shrink  back  into  the  crowd.  He  shook  his  head  - 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  19 

cast  a  sort  of  despairing  look  at  the  boat  and  hur- 
ried away. 

"That's  queer,"  murmured  Tom.  "I  guess  that 
was  his  limit,  yet  if  he  wanted  the  boat  badly  that 
wasn't  a  high  price." 

"Who's  going  ahead  of  me?"  demanded  Andy 
in  loud  tones. 

"Keep  quiet!"  urged  Sam.  "We  may  get  it 
yet" 

"Yes,  don't  make  so  many  remarks,"  counseled 
the  auctioneer.  "I'm  bid  a  hundred  and  five. 
Will  any  one  make  it  a  hundred  and  twenty-five  ?" 

Tom  wondered  why  the  man  had  not  remained 
to  see  if  his  bid  was  accepted,  for  no  one  raised  it 
at  once,  but  he  hurried  off  and  did  not  look  back. 
Tom  took  a  sudden  resolve. 

"A  hundred  and  twenty-five !"  he  called  out. 

"That's  what  I  like  to  hear,"  exclaimed  Mr. 
Wood.  "Now  we  are  doing  business.  A  hundred 
and  twenty-five  from  Tom  Swift.  Will  any  one 
offer  me  fifty?" 

Andy  and  Sam  seemed  to  be  having  some  dis- 
pute. 

"Let's  make  him  quit  right  now,"  suggested 
Andy  in  a  hoarse  whisper. 

"You  can't,"  declared  Sam. 

"Yes,  I  can.    I'll  go  up  to  my  limit  right  now." 


20        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"And  some  one  will  go  above  you — maybe  Tom 
will,"  was  Sam's  retort. 

"I  don't  believe  he  can  afford  to,"  Andy  came 
back  with.  "I'm  going  to  call  his  bluffs.  I  be- 
lieve he's  only  bidding  to  make  others  think  he 
.wants  it  I  don't  believe  he'll  buy  it." 

Tom  heard  what  was  said,  but  did  not  reply. 
iThe  auctioneer  was  calling  monotonously:  "I'm 
bid  a  hundred  and  twenty-five — twenty-five.  Will 
any  one  make  it  fifty?" 

"A  hundred  and  fifty !"  sang  out  Andy,  and  all 
eyes  were  directed  toward  him. 

"Sixty!"  said  Tom  quietly. 

"Here,  you — — "  began  the  red-haired  lad. 
You " 

"That  will  do!"  exclaimed  the  auctioneer 
sternly.  "I  am  offered  a  hundred  and  sixty.  Now 
who  will  give  me  an  advance?  I  want  to  get  the 
boat  up  to  two  hundred,  and  then  the  real  bidding 
will  begin." 

Tom's  heart  sank.  He  hoped  it  would  be  some 
time  before  a  two-hundred  dollar  offer  would  be 
heard.  As  for  Andy  Foger,  he  was  almost  speech- 
less with  rage.  He  shook  off  the  restraining  arm 
of  Sam,  and,  worming  his  way  to  the  front  of  the 
throng,  exclaimed: 

"I'll  give  a  hundred  and  seventy-five  dollars  for 
that  boat!" 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  21 

"Good !"  cried  the  auctioneer.  "That's  the  way 
to  talk.  I'm  offered  a  hundred  and  seventy-five." 

"Eighty,"  said  Tom  quietly,  though  his  heart 
was  beating  fast. 

"Well,  of  all "  began  Andy,  but  Sam 

Snedecker  dragged  him  back. 

"You  haven't  got  any  more  money,"  said  the 
bully's  crony.  "Better  stop  now." 

"I  will  not!  I'm  going  home  for  more,"  de- 
clared Andy.  "I  must  have  that  boat." 

"It  will  be  sold  when  you  get  back,"  said  Sam. 

"Haven't  you  got  any  money  you  can  lend 
me?"  inquired  the  squint-eyed  one,  scowling  in 
Tom's  direction. 

"No,  not  a  bit.    There,  some  one  raised  Tom's 

bid." 

At  that  moment  a  man  in  the  crowd  offered  a 
hundred  and  eighty-one  dollars. 

"Small  amounts  thankfully  received,"  said  Mr. 
Wood  with  a  laugh.  Then  the  bidding  became 
lively,  a  number  making  one-dollar  advances. 

The  price  got  up  to  one  hundred  and  ninety-five 
dollars  and  there  it  hung  for  several  minutes,  de- 
spite the  eloquence  of  Mr.  Wood,  who  tried  by  all 
his  persuasive  powers  to  get  a  substantial  advance. 
But  every  one  seemed  afraid  to  bid.  As  for  the 
young  inventor,  he  was  in  a  quandary.  He  could 
only  offer  five  dollars  more,  and,  if  he  bid  it  in  a 


22        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

lump,  some  one  might  go  to  two  hundred  and  five, 
and  he  would  not  get  the  boat.  He  wished  he  had 
secured  permission  from  his  father  to  go  higher, 
yet  he  knew  that  as  a  fair  proposition  two  hun- 
dred dollars  was  about  all  the  motor-boat  in  its 
present  condition  was  worth,  at  least  to  him. 
Then  he  made  a  sudden  resolve.  He  thought  he 
might  as  well  have  the  suspense  over. 

"Two  hundred  dollars!"  he  called  boldly. 

"I'm  offered  two  hundred!"  repeated  Mr. 
Wood.  "That  is  something  like  it.  Now  who 
will  raise  that?" 

There  was  a  moment  of  silence.  Then  the  auc- 
tioneer swung  into  an  enthusiastic  description  of 
the  boat.  He  begged  for  an  advance,  but  none 
was  made,  though  Tom's  heart  seemed  in  his 
throat,  so  afraid  was  he  that  he  would  not  get  the 
Carlopa. 

"Two  hundred — two  hundred !"  droned  on  Mr. 
Wood.  "I  am  offered  two  hundred.  Will  any  of 
you  go  any  higher?"  He  paused  a  moment,  and 
Tom's  heart  beat  harder  than  ever.  "If  not,"  re- 
sumed the  speaker,  "I  will  declare  the  bidding 
closed.  Are  you  all  done?  Once — twice — three 
times.  Two  hundred  dollars.  Going — going — 
gone !"  He  clapped  his  hands.  "The  boat  is  sold 
to  Thomas  Swift  for  two  hundred  dollars.  If  he'll 
step  up  I'll  take  his  money." 


SOME  LIVELY  BIDDING  23 

There  was  a  laugh  as  Tom,  blushingly,  ad- 
vanced. He  passed  Andy  Foger,  who  had  worked 
his  way  over  near  him. 

"You  got  the  boat,"  sneered  the  bully,  "and  I 
s'pose  you  think  you  got  ahead  of  me." 
,     "Keep  quiet !"  begged  Sam. 

"I  won't!"  exclaimed  Andy.  "He  outbid  me 
just  out  of  spite,  and  I'll  get  even  with  him.  You 
see  if  I  don't!" 

Tom  looked  Andy  Foger  straight  in  the  eyes, 
but  did  not  answer,  and  the  red-haired  youth 
turned  aside,  followed  by  his  crony,  and  started 
toward  his  automobile. 

"I  congratulate  you  on  your  bargain,"  said  Mr. 
Wood  as  Tom  proceeded  to  make  out  a  check. 
He  gave  little  thought  to  the  threat  Andy  Foger 
had  made,  but  the  time  was  coming  when  he  was 
to  remember  it  well. 


CHAPTER  III 

A  TIMELY  WARNING 

,  are  you  satisfied  with  your  bargain, 
Tom?"  asked  Mr.  Wood  when  the  formalities 
about  transferring  the  ownership  of  the  motor- 
boat  had  been  completed. 

"Oh,  yes,  I  calculated  to  pay  just  what  I  did/' 

"I'm  glad  you're  satisfied,  for  Mr.  Hastings 
told  me  to  be  sure  the  purchaser  was  satisfied 
Here  he  comes  now.  I  guess  he  wasn't  at  the 
auction." 

An  elderly  gentleman  was  approaching  Mr. 
Wood  and  Tom.  Most  of  the  throng  was  dispers- 
ing, but  the  young  inventor  noticed  that  Andy; 
Foger  and  Sam  Snedecker  stood  to  one  side,  re- 
garding him  closely. 

"So  you  got  my  boat,"  remarked  the  former 
owner  of  the  craft.  "I  hope  you  will  be  able  to 
fix  it  up." 

"Oh,  I  think  I  shall,"  answered  the  new  owner 
of  the  Carlopa.  "If  I  can't,  father  will  help  me." 

"Yes,  you  have  an  advantage  there.  Are  you 
24 


A  TIMELY  WARNING  2$ 

going  to  keep  the  same  name  ?"  and  Mr.  Hastings 
seemed  quite  interested  in  what  answer  the  lad 
would  make. 

"I  think  not,"  replied  Tom.  "It's  a  good  name, 
but  I  want  something  that  tells  more  what  a  fast 
boat  it  is,  for  I'm  going  to  make  some  changes 
that  will  increase  the  speed." 

"That's  a  good  idea.    Call  it  the  Swift." 

"Folks  would  say  I  was  stuck  up  if  I  did  that," 
retorted  the  youth  quickly.  "I  think  I  shall  call 
it  the  Arrow.  That's  a  good,  short  name, 
and " 

"It's  certainly  speedy,"  interrupted  Mr.  Hast- 
ings. "Well  now,  since  you're  not  going  to  use 
the  name  Carlo  pa,  would  you  mind  if  I  took  it  for 
my  new  boat  ?  I  have  a  fancy  for  it." 

"Not  in  the  least,"  said  Tom.  "Don't  you  want 
the  letters  from  each  side  of  the  bow  to  put  on 
your  new  craft  ?" 

"It's  very  kind  of  you  to  offer  them,  and,  since 
you  will  have  no  need  for  them,  I'll  be  glad  to  take 
them  off." 

"Come  down  to  my  boat,"  invited  Tom,  using 
the  word  "my"  with  a  proper  pride,  "and  I'll  take 
off  the  brass  letters.  I  have  a  screw  driver  in  my 
motor-cycle  tool  bag." 

As  the  former  and  present  owners  of  the  Sfr- 
row  (which  is  the  name  by  which  I  shall  hereafter 


26        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

designate  Tom's  motor-boat)  walked  down  to- 
ward the  dock  where  it  was  moored  the  young  in- 
ventor gave  a  startled  cry. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings. 

"That  man !  See  him  at  my  motor-boat  ?"  cried 
Tom.  He  pointed  to  the  craft  in  the  lake.  A  man 
was  in  the  cockpit  and  seemed  to  be  doing  some- 
thing to  the  forward  bulkhead,  which  closed  off 
the  compartment  holding  the  gasoline  tank. 

"Who  is  he?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings,  while  Tom 
started  on  a  run  toward  the  boat. 

"I  don't  know.  Some  man  who  bid  on  the  boat 
at  the  auction,  but  who  didn't  go  high  enough," 
answered  the  lad.  As  he  neared  the  craft  the  man 
sprang  out,  ran  along  the  lake  shore  for  a  short 
distance  and  then  disappeared  amid  the  bushes* 
which  bordered  the  estate  of  Mr.  Hastings.  Tom 
hurriedly  entered  the  Arrow. 

"Did  he  do  any  damage  ?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings. 

"I  guess  he  didn't  have  time,"  responded  Tom. 
"But  he  was  tampering  with  the  lock  on  the  door 
of  the  forward  compartment.  What's  in  there  ?" 

"Nothing  but  the  gasoline  tank.  I  keep  the 
bulkhead  sliding  door  locked  on  general  principles* 
I  can't  imagine  what  the  fellow  would  want  to 
open  it  for.  There's  nothing  of  value  in  there. 
Perhaps  he  isn't  right  in  his  head.  Was  he  a 
tramp?" 


A  TIMELY  WARNING  27 

"No,  he  was  well  dressed,  but  he  seemed  very 
nervous  during  the  auction,  as  if  he  was  disap- 
pointed not  to  have  secured  the  boat.  Yet  what 
could  he  want  in  that  compartment?  Have  you 
the  key  to  the  lock,  Mr.  Hastings?" 

"Yes,  it  belongs  to  you  now,  Mr.  Swift,"  and 
the  former  owner  handed  it  to  Tom,  who  quickly 
unlocked  the  compartment.  He  slid  back  the 
door  and  peered  within,  but  all  he  saw  was  the  big 
galvanized  tank. 

"Nothing  in  there  he  could  want,"  commented 
the  former  owner  of  the  craft. 

"No,"  agreed  Tom  in  a  low  voice.  "I  don't  see 
what  he  wanted  to  open  the  door  for."  But  the 
time  was  to  come,  and  not  far  off,  when  Tom  was 
to  discover  quite  a  mystery  connected  with  the  for- 
ward compartment  of  his  boat,  and  the  solution 
of  it  was  fated  to  bring  him  into  no  little  danger. 

"It  certainly  is  odd,"  went  on  Mr.  Hastings 
when,  after  Tom  had  secured  the  screw  driver 
from  his  motor-cycle  tool  bag,  he  aided  the  lad 
in  removing  the  letters  from  the  bow  of  the  boat, 
"Are  you  sure  you  don't  know  the  man?" 

"No,  I  never  saw  him  before.  At  first  I  thought 
his  voice  sounded  like  one  of  the  members  of  the 
Happy  Harry  gang,  but  when  I  looked  squarely 
at  him  I  could  not  see  a  bit  of  resemblance.  Be- 


28        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

sides,  that  gang  would  not  venture  again  into  this 
neighborhood." 

"No,  I  imagine  not.  Perhaps  he  was  only  a 
curious,  meddlesome  person.  I  have  frequently 
been  bothered  by  such  individuals.  They  want  to 
see  all  the  working  parts  of  an  automobile  or 
motor-boat,  and  they  don't  care  what  damage  they 
do  by  investigating." 

Tom  did  not  reply,  but  he  was  pretty  certain 
that  the  man  in  question  had  more  of  an  object 
than  mere  curiosity  in  tampering  with  the  boat. 
However,  he  could  discover  no  solution  just  then, 
and  he  proceeded  with  the  work  of  taking  off  the 
letters. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  with  your  boat,  now 
that  you  have  it  ?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings.  "Can  you 
run  it  down  to  your  dock  in  the  condition  in  which 
it  is  now  ?" 

"No,  I  shall  have  to  go  back  home,  get  some 
tools  and  fix  up  the  motor.  It  will  take  half  a 
day,  at  least.  I  will  come  back  this  afternoon  and 
have  the  boat  at  my  house  by  night.  That  is  if  I 
may  leave  it  at  your  dock  here." 

"Certainly,  as  long  as  you  like." 

The  young  inventor  had  many  things  to  think 
about  as  he  rode  toward  home,  and  though  he 
was  somewhat  puzzled  over  the  actions  of  the 
stranger,  he  forgot  about  that  in  anticipating  the 


A  TIMELY  WARNING  39 

pleasure  he  would  have  when  the  motor-boat  was 
in  running  order. 

"I'll  take  dad  off  on  a  cruise  about  the  lake,"  he 
decided.  "He  needs  a  rest,  for  he's  been  working 
hard  and  worrying  over  the  theft  of  the  turbine 
motor  model.  I'll  take  Ned  Newton  for  some 
rides,  too,  and  he  can  bring  his  camera  along  and 
get  a  lot  of  pictures.  Oh,  I'll  have  some  jolly 
sport  this  summer !" 

Tom  was  riding  swiftly  along  a  quiet  country 
road  and  was  approaching  a  steep  hill,  which  he 
could  not  see  until  he  was  close  to  it,  owing  to  a 
sharp  turn. 

As  he  was  about  to  swing  around  it  and  coast 
swiftly  down  the  steep  declivity  he  was  startled  by 
hearing  a  voice  calling  to  him  from  the  bushes  at 
the  side  of  the  road. 

"Hold  on,  dar !  Hold  on,  Mistah  Swift !"  cried 
a  colored  man,  suddenly  popping  into  view. 
"Doan't  go  down  dat  hill." 

"Why,  it's  Eradicate  Sampson!"  exclaimed 
Tom,  quickly  shutting  off  the  power  and  applying 
the  brakes.  "What's  the  matter,  Rad?  Why. 
shouldn't  I  go  down  that  hill?" 

"Beca'se,  Mistah  Swift,  dere's  a  pow'ful  mon- 
strous tree  trunk  right  across  de  road  at  a  place 
whar  yo'  cain't  see  it  till  yo'  gits  right  on  top  ob  it, 
Ef  yo'  done  hit  dat  ar  tree  on  yo'  lickity-split  ma- 


30        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

chine,  yo'  suah  would  land  in  kingdom  come. 
Doan't  go  down  dat  hill !" 

Tom  leaped  off  his  machine  and  approached 
the  colored  man.  Eradicate  Sampson  did  odd  jobs 
in  the  neighborhood  of  Shopton,  and  more  than 
once  Tom  had  done  him  favors  in  repairing  his 
lawn  mower  or  his  wood-sawing  machine.  In 
turn  Eradicate  had  given  Tom  a  valuable  clew  as 
to  the  hiding  place  of  the  model  thieves. 

"How'd  the  log  get  across  the  road,  Rad?" 
asked  Tom. 

"I  dunno,  Mistah  Swift.  "I  see  it  when  I  come 
along  wid  mah  mule,  Boomerang,  an'  I  tried  t'  git 
it  outer  de  way,  but  I  couldn't.  Den  I  left  Boom- 
erang an'  mah  wagon  at  de  foot  ob  de  hill  an'  I 
come  up  heah  t'  git  a  long  pole  t'  pry  de  log  outer 
de  way.  I  didn't  t'ink  nobody  would  come  along, 
'case  dis  road  ain't  much  trabeled." 

"I  took  it  for  a  short  cut,"  said  the  lad.  "Come 
on,  let's  take  a  look  at  the  log." 

Leaving  his  machine  at  the  top  of  the  slope, 
the  young  inventor  accompanied  the  colored  man 
'down  the  hill.  At  the  foot  of  it,  well  hidden  from 
sight  of  any  one  who  might  come  riding  down, 
was  a  big  log.  It  was  all  the  way  across  the  road. 

"That  never  fell  there,"  exclaimed  Tom  in  some 
excitement.  "That  never  rolled  off  a  load  of  logs, 


A  TIMELY  WARNING  31 

even  if  there  had  been  one  along,  which  there 
wasn't.  That  log  was  put  there !" 

"Does  yo'  fink  dat,  Mistah  Swift?"  asked 
Eradicate,  his  eyes  getting  big. 

"1  certainly  do,  and,  if  you  hadn't  warned  me,  I 
might  have  been  killed." 

"Oh,  I  heard  yo'  lickity-split  machine  chug- 
chuggin'  along  when  I  were  in  de  bushes,  lookin* 
for  a  pryin'  pole,  an'  I  hurried  out  to  warn  yo'. 
I  knowed  I  could  leave  Boomerang  safe,  'case  he's 
asleep." 

"I'm  glad  you  did  warn  me,"  went  on  the 
youth  solemnly.  Then,  as  he  went  closer  to  the 
log,  he  uttered  an  exclamation. 

"That  has  been  dragged  here  by  an  automo- 
bile!" he  cried.  "It's  been  done  on  purpose  to 
injure  some  one.  Come  on,  Rad,  let's  see  if  we 
can't  find  out  who  did  it." 

Something  on  the  ground  caught  Tom's  eye. 
He  stooped  and  picked  up  a  nickle-plated  wrench. 

"This  may  come  in  handy  as  evidence/'  he  mur« 
mured. 


CHAPTER  IV 

TOM  AND  ANDY  CLASH 

EVEN  a  casual  observer  could  have  told  that  an 
auto  had  had  some  part  in  dragging-  the  log  to 
the  place  where  it  blockaded  the  road.  In  the  dust 
were  many  marks  of  the  big  rubber  tires  and  even 
the  imprint  of  a  rope,  which  had  been  used  to  tow 
the  tree  trunk. 

"What  fo'  yo'  t'ink  any  one  put  dat  log  dere?" 
asked  the  colored  man  as  he  followed  Tom. 
Boomerang,  the  mule,  so  called  because  Eradicate 
said  you  never  could  tell  what  he  was  going  to  do, 
opened  his  eyes  lazily  and  closed  them  again. 

"I  don't  know  why,  Rad,  unless  they  wanted  to 
wreck  an  automobile  or  a  wagon.  Maybe  tramps 
did  it  for  spite/' 

"Maybe  some  one  done  it  to  make  yo'  hab 
trouble,  Mistah  Swift." 

"No,  I  hardly  think  so.  I  don't  know  of  any 
one  who  would  want  to  make  trouble  for  me, 
and  how  would  they  know  I  was  coming  this 
way " 


TOM  AND  ANDY  CLASH  33 

Tom  suddenly  checked  himself.  The  memory 
of  the  scene  at  the  auction  came  back  to  him  and 
he  recalled  what  Andy  Foger  had  said  about  "get* 
ting  even." 

"Which  way  did  dat  auto  go?"  resumed  Eradi- 
cate. 

"It  came  from  down  the  road,"  answered  Tom, 
not  completing  the  sentence  he  had  left  unfinished. 
"They  dragged  the  log  up  to  the  foot  of  the  hill 
and  left  it.  Then  the  auto  went  down  this  way." 

It  was  comparatively  easy,  for  a  lad  of  such 
sharp  observation  as  was  Tom,  to  trace  the  move- 
ments of  the  vehicle, 

"Den  if  it's  down  heah,  maybe  we  cotch  'em," 
suggested  the  colored  man. 

The  young  inventor  did  not  answer  at  once. 
He  was  hurrying  along,  his  eyes  on  the  tell-tale 
marks.  He  had  proceeded  some  distance  from 
the  place  where  the  log  was  when  he  uttered  a 
cry.  At  the  same  moment  he  hurried  from  the 
road  toward  a  thick  clump  of  bushes  that  were  in 
the  ditch  alongside  of  the  highway.  Reaching 
them,  he  parted  the  leaves  and  called : 

"Here's  the  auto,  Rad!" 

The  colored  man  ran  up,  his  eyes  wider  open 
than  ever.  There,  hidden  amid  the  bushes,  was 
a  large  touring  car. 

"Whose  am  dat?"  asked  Eradicate. 


34        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Tom  did  not  answer.  He  penetrated  the  under* 
brush,  noting  where  the  broken  branches  had  been 
bent  upright  after  the  forced  entrance  of  the 
'car,  the  better  to  hide  it.  The  young  inventor  was 
seeking  some  clew  to  discover  the  owner  of  the 
machine.  To  this  end  he  climbed  up  in  the  ton- 
neau  and  was  looking  about  when  some  one  burst 
in  through  the  screen  of  bushes  and  a  voice  cried : 

"Here,  you  get  out  of  my  car !" 

"Oh,  is  it  your  car,  Andy  Foger?"  asked  Tom 
calmly  as  he  recognized  his  squint-eyed  rival.  "I 
was  just  beginning  to  think  it  was.  Allow  me  to 
return  your  wrench,"  and  he  held  out  the  on^  he 
had  picked  up  near  the  log.  "The  next  time  ydu 
drag  trees  across  the  road,"  went  on  the  lad  in 
the  tonneau,  facing  the  angry  and  dismayed  Andy, 
"I'd  advise  you  to  post  a  notice  at  the  top  of  the 
hill,  so  persons  riding  down  will  not  be  injured." 

"Notice — road — hill — logs !"  stammered  Andy, 
turning  red  under  his  freckles. 

"That's  what  I  said,"  replied  Tom  coolly. 

"I — I  didn't  have  anything  to  do  with  putting  a 
log  across  any  road,"  mumbled  the  bully.  "I— * 
I've  been  off  toward  the  creek." 

"Have  you  ?"  asked  Tom  with  a  peculiar  smile. 
"I  thought  you  might  have  been  looking  for  the 
wrench  you  dropped  near  the  log.  You  should  be 
more  careful  and  so  should  Sam  Snedecker,  who's 


TOM  AND  ANDY  CLASH  35 

hiding  outside  the  bushes,"  went  on  our  hero,  for 
he  had  caught  sight  of  the  form  of  Andy's  crony 

"I — I  told  him  not  to  do  it !"  exclaimed  Sam  as 
he  came  from  his  hiding  place. 

"Shut,  up !"  exclaimed  Andy  desperately. 

"Oh,  I  think  I  know  your  secret/'  continued  the 
young  inventor.  "You  wanted  to  get  even  with 
me  for  outbidding  you  on  the  motor-boat.  You 
watched  which  road  I  took,  and  then,  in  your  auto, 
you  came  a  shorter  way,  ahead  of  me.  You  hauled 
the  log  across  the  foot  of  the  hill,  hoping,  I  sup- 
pose, that  my  machine  would  be  broken.  But,  let 
me  tell  you,  it  was  a  risky  trick.  Not  only  might 
I  have  been  killed,  but  so  would  whoever  else  who 
happened  to  drive  down  the  slope  over  the  log, 
whether  in  a  wagon  or  automobile.  Fortunately 
Eradicate  discovered  it  in  time  and  warned  me. 
I  ought  to  have  you  arrested,  but  you're  not  worth 
it.  A  good  thrashing  is  what  such  sneaks  as  you 
deserve !" 

"You  haven't  got  any  evidence  against  us," 
sneered  Andy  confidently,  his  old  bravado  coming 
back. 

"I  have  all  I  want,"  replied  Tom.  "You  needn't 
worry.  I'm  not  going  to  tell  the  police.  But 
you've  got  to  do  one  thing  or  I'll  make  you  sorry 
you  ever  tried  this  trick.  Eradicate  will  help  me* 
so  don't  think  you're  going  to  escape." 


36        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"You  get  out  of  my  automobile!"  demanded 
Andy.  "I'll  have  you  arrested  if  you  don't." 

"I'll  get  out  because  I'm  ready  to,  but  not  on 
account  of  your  threats,"  retorted  Mr,  Swift's  son. 
"Here's  your  wrench.  Now  I  want  you  and  Sam 
to  start  up  this  machine  and  haul  that  log  out  of 
the  way." 

"S'pose  I  won't  do  it?"  snapped  Andy. 

"Then  I'll  cause  your  arrest,  besides  thrashing 
you  into  the  bargain !  You  can  take  your  choice 
of  removing  the  log  so  travelers  can  pass  or  hav- 
ing a  good  hiding,  you  and  Sam.  Eradicate,  you 
take  Sam  and  I'll  tackle  Andy." 

"Don't  you  dare  touch  me !"  cried  the  bully,  but 
there  was  a  whine  in  his  tones. 

"You  let  me  alone  or  I'll  tell  my  father!"  added 
Sam.  "I — I  didn't  have  nothin'  to  do  with  it,  any- 
how. I  told  Andy  it  would  make  trouble,  but  he 
made  me  help  him." 

"Say,  what's  the  matter  with  you?"  demanded 
Andy  indignantly  of  his  crony.  "Do  you  want 

"I  wish  I'd  never  come  with  you,"  went  on 
Sam,  who  was  beginning  to  be  frightened. 

"Come  now.  Start  up  that  machine  and  haul 
the  log  out  of  the  way,"  demanded  Tom  again. 

"I  won't  do  it !"  retorted  the  red-haired  lad  im~ 
pudentJy. 


TOM  AND  ANDY  CLASH  37 

"Yes,  you  will,"  insisted  our  hero,  and  he  took 
a  step  toward  the  bully.  They  were  out  of  the 
clump  of  bushes  now  and  in  the  roadside  ditch. 

"You  let  me  alone,"  almost  screamed  Andy,  and 
in  his  baffled  rage  he  rushed  at  Tom,  aiming  a 
blow. 

The  young  inventor  quickly  stepped  to  one  side9 
and,  as  the  bully  passed  him,  Tom  sent  out  a  neat 
left-hander.  Andy  Foger  went  down  in  a  heap  on 
the  grass. 


CHAPTER  V 

A  TEST  OF  SPEED 

WHETHER  Tom  or  Andy  was  the  most  sur- 
prised at  the  happening  would  be  hard  to  say.  The 
former  had  not  meant  to  hit  so  hard  and  he  cer- 
tainly did  not  intend  to  knock  the  squint-eyed 
youth  down.  The  latter's  fall  was  due,  as  much 
as  anything,  to  his  senseless,  rushing  tactics  and 
to  the  fact  that  he  slipped  on  the  green  grass. 
The  bully  was  up  in  a  moment,  however,  but  he 
knew  better  than  to  try  conclusions  with  Tom 
again.  Instead  he  stood  out  of  reach  and  splut- 
tered : 

"You  just  wait,  Tom  Swift!    You  just  wait!" 

"Well,  I'm  waiting,"  responded  the  other 
calmly. 

"I'll  get  even  with  you,"  went  on  Andy.  "Yoj 
think  you're  smart  because  you  got  ahead  of  me, 
but  I'll  get  square !" 

"Look  here !"  burst  out  the  young  inventor  de- 
terminedly, taking  a  step  toward  his  antagonist, 
at  which  Andy  quickly  retreated,  "I  don't  want 

38 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  39 

any  more  of  that  talk  from  you,  Andy  Foger. 
That's  twice  you've  made  threats  against  me  to- 
day. You  put  that  log  across  the  road,  and  if  you 
try  anything  like  it  for  your  second  attempt  I'll 
make  you  wish  you  hadn't.  That  applies  to  you, 
too,  Sam,"  he  added,  glancing  at  the  other  lad. 

"I — I  ain't  goin'  to  do  nothin',"  declared  Sam. 
"I  told  Andy  not  to  put  that  tree " 

"Keep  still,  can't  you!'  shouted  the  bully. 
"Come  on.  We'll  get  even  with  him,  that's  all," 
he  muttered  as  he  went  back  into  the  bushes  where 
the  auto  was.  Andy  cranked  up  and  he  and  his 
crony  getting  into  the  car  were  about  to  start  off. 

"Hold  on!"  cried  Tom.  "You'll  take  that  log 
from  across  the  road  or  I'll  have  you  arrested  for 
obstructing  traffic,  and  that's  a  serious  offense." 

"I'm  goin'  to  take  it  away!"  growled  Andy. 
"Give  a  fellow  a  show,  can't  you?" 

He  cast  an  ugly  look  at  Tom,  but  the  latter  only 
smiled.  It  was  no  easy  task  for  Sam  and  Andy  to 
pull  the  log  out  of  the  way,  as  they  could  hardly 
lift  it  to  slip  the  rope  under.  But  they  finally  man- 
aged it,  and,  by  the  power  of  the  car,  hauled  it  to 
one  side.  Then  they  speed  off. 

"I  'clar  t'  gracious,  dem  young  fellers  am  most 
as  mean  an'  contrary  as  mah  mule  Boomerang  am 
sometimes,"  observed  Eradicate.  "Only  Boom- 
erang ain't  quite  so  mean  as  dat." 


40        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"I  should  hope  not,  Rad,"  observed  Tom.  "I'm 
ever  so  much  obliged  for  your  warning.  I  guess 
I'll  be  getting  home  now.  Come  around  next 
week ;  we  have  some  work  for  you." 

"  'Deed  an'  I  will,"  replied  the  colored  man. 
"I'll  come  around  an'  eradicate  all  de  dirt  on  yo' 
place,  Mistah  Swift.  Yais,  sah,  I's  Eradicate  by 
name,  and  dat's  my  perfession — eradicatin'  dirt. 
Much  obleeged,  I'll  call  around.  Giddap,  Boom- 
erang!" 

The  mule  lazily  flicked  his  ears,  but  did  not  stir, 
and  Tom,  knowing  that  the  process  of  arousing 
the  animal  would  take  some  time,  hurried  up  the 
hill  to  where  he  had  left  his  motor-cycle.  Eradi- 
cate was  still  engaged  on  the  task  of  trying  to 
arouse  his  steed  to  a  sense  of  its  duty  when  ths 
young  inventor  flashed  by  on  his  way  home. 

"So  you  now  own  a  broken  motor-boat,"  ob- 
served Mr.  Swift  when  Tom  had  related  the  cir- 
cumstances of  the  auction.  "Well,  now  you  have 
it,  what  are  you  going  to  do  with  it  ?" 

"Fix  it,  first  of  all,"  replied  his  son.  "It  needs 
considerable  tinkering  up,  but  nothing  but  what 
I  can  do,  if  you'll  help  me." 

"Of  course  I  will.  Do  you  think  you  can  get 
any  speed  out  of  it  ?" 

"Well,  I'm  not  so  anxious  for  speed.  I  want  a 
good,  comfortable  boat,  and  the  Arrow  will  be 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  41 

that.  I've  named  it,  you  see.  I'm  going  back  to 
Lanton  this  afternoon,  take  some  tools  along,  and 
repair  it  so  I  can  run  the  boat  over  to  here.  Then 
I'll  get  at  it  and  fix  it  up.  I've  got  a  plan  for  you, 
dad." 

"What  is  it?"  asked  the  inventor,  his  rather 
tired  face  lighting  up  with  interest. 

"I'm  going  to  take  you  on  a  vacation  trip." 

"A  vacation  trip  ?" 

"Yes,  you  need  a  rest.  You've  been  working 
too  hard  over  that  gyroscope  invention." 

"Yes,  Tom,  I  think  I  have,"  admitted  Mr. 
Swift.  "But  I  am  very  much  interested  in  it,  and 
I  think  I  can  get  it  to  work.  If  I  do  it  will  make  a 
great  difference  in  the  control  of  aeroplanes.  It 
will  make  them  more  stable  and  able  to  fly  in 
almost  any  wind.  But  I  certainly  have  puzzled 
my  brains  over  some  features  of  it.  However,  I 
don't  quite  see  what  you  mean." 

"You  need  a  rest,  dad,"  said  Mr.  Swift's  son 
kindly.  "I  want  you  to  forget  all  about  patents, 
inventions,  machinery  and  even  the  gyroscope  for 
a  week  or  two.  When  I  get  my  motor-boat  in 
shape  I'm  going  to  take  you  and  Ned  Newton  up 
the  lake  for  a  cruise.  We  can  camp  out,  or,  if  we 
had  to,  we  could  sleep  in  the  boat.  I'm  going  to 
put  a  canopy  on  it  and  arrange  some  bunks.  It 


42        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

will  do  you  good  and  perhaps  new  ideas  for  youf 
gyroscope  may  come  to  you  after  a  rest." 

"Perhaps  they  will,  Tom.  I  am  certainly  tired 
enough  to  need  a  vacation.  It's  very  kind  of  you 
to  think  of  me  in  connection  with  your  boat.  But 
if  you're  going  to  get  it  this  afternoon  you'd  better 
start  if  you  expect  to  get  back  by  night.  I  think 
Mrs.  Baggert  has  dinner  ready." 

After  the  meal  Tom  selected  a  number  of  tools 
from  his  own  particular  machine  shop  and  carried 
them  down  to  the  dock  on  the  lake,  where  his  two 
small  boats  were  tied. 

"Aren't  you  going  back  on  your  motor-cycle  ?" 
asked  his  father. 

"No,  dad,  I'm  going  to  row  over  to  Lanton, 
and,  if  I  can  get  the  Arrow  fixed,  I'll  tow  my  row- 
boat  back." 

"Very  well,  then  you  won't  be  in  any  danger 
from  Andy  Foger.  I  must  speak  to  his  father 
about  him." 

"No,  dad,  don't,"  exclaimed  the  young  inventor 
quickly.  "I  can  fight  my  own  battles  with  Andy. 
J  don't  fancy  he  will  bother  me  again  right  away." 

Tom  found  it  more  of  a  task  than  he  had  an- 
ticipated to  get  the  motor  in  shape  to  run  the 
Arrow  back  under  her  own  power.  The  magneto 
was  out  of  order  and  the  batteries  needed  renew- 
ing, while  the  spark  coil  had  short-circuited  and 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  43 

took  considerable  time  to  adjust.  But  by  using 
some  new  dry  cells,  which  Mr.  Hastings  gave  him, 
and  cutting  out  the  magneto,  or  small  dynamo 
which  produces  the  spark  that  exploded  the  gaso- 
line in  the  cylinders,  Tom  soon  had  a  fine,  "fat" 
hot  spark  from  the  auxiliary  ignition  system. 
Then,  adjusting  the  timer  and  throttle  on  the 
engine  and  seeing  that  the  gasoline  tank  was  filled, 
the  fed  started  up  his  motor.  Mr.  Hastings  helped 
him,  but  after  a  few  turns  of  the  fly-wheel  there 
were  no  explosions.  Finally,  after  the  carbure- 
tor (which  is  the  device  where  gasoline  is  mixed 
with  air  to  produce  an  explosive  mixture)  had 
been  adjusted,  the  motor  started  off  as  if  it  had 
intended  to  do  so  all  the  while  and  was  only  taking 
its  time  about  it. 

"The  machine  doesn't  run  as  smooth  as  it  ought 
to,"  commented  Mr.  Hastings. 

"No,  it  needs  a  thorough  overhauling,"  agreed 
the  owner  of  the  Arrow.  "I'll  get  at  it  to-mor- 
row," and  with  that  he  swung  out  into  the  lake, 
towing  his  rowboat  after  him. 

"A  motor-boat  of  my  own !"  exulted  Tom  as  he 
twirled  the  steering-wheel  and  noted  how  readily 
the  craft  answered  her  helm.  "This  is  great !" 

He  steered  down  the  lake  and  then,  turning 
around,  went  up  it  a  mile  or  more  before  heading 


44        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

for  his  own  dock,  as  he  wanted  to  see  how  the 
engine  behaved. 

"With  some  changes  and  adjustments  I  can 
make  this  a  speedy  boat/'  thought  Tom.  "I'll  get 
right  at  it.  I  shouldn't  wonder  if  I  could  make  a 
good  showing  against  Mr.  Hastings'  new  Carlopa, 
though  his  boat's  got  four  cylinders  and  mine  has 
but  two." 

The  lad  was  proceeding  leisurely  along  the  lake 
shore,  near  his  home,  with  the  motor  throttled 
down  to  test  it  at  low  speed,  when  he  heard  some 
one  shout.  Looking  toward  the  bank,  Tom  saw 
a  man  waving  his  hands. 

"I  wonder  what  he  wants  ?"  thought  our  hero  as 
he  put  the  wheel  over  to  send  his  craft  to  shore. 
He  heard  a  moment  later,  for  the  man  on  the 
bank  cried  : 

"I  say,  my  young  friend,  do  you  know  anything 
about  automobiles?  Of  course  you  do  or  you 
wouldn't  be  running  a  motor-boat.  Bless  my  very 
existence,  but  I'm  in  trouble!  My  machine  has 
stopped  on  a  lonely  road  and  I  can't  seem  to  get  it 
started.  I  happened  to  hear  your  boat  and  I  came 
here  to  hail  you.  Bless  my  coat-pockets  but  I  am 
in  trouble !  Can  you  help  me  ?  Bless  my  soul  and 
gizzard!" 

"Mr.  Damon,"  exclaimed  Tom,  shutting  off  the 
jK>wer,  for  he  was  now  near  shore.  "Of  course, 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  45 

I'll  help  you,  Mr.  Damon,"  for  the  young  inventor 
had  recognized  the  eccentric  man  of  whom  he  had 
purchased  the  motor-cycle  and  who  had  helped 
him  in  rounding  up  the  thieves. 

"Why,  bless  my  shoe-laces,  if  it  isn't  Tom 
Swift!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon,  who  seemed  very 
fond  of  calling  down  blessings  upon  himself  or 
upon  articles  of  his  dress  or  person. 

"Yes,  I'm  here,"  admitted  Tom  with  a  laugh. 

"And  in  a  motor-boat,  too!  Bless  my  pocket- 
book,  but  did  that  run  away  with  some  one  who 
sold  it  to  you  cheap?" 

"No,  not  exactly,"  and  the  lad  explained  how 
he  had  come  into  possession  of  it.  By  this  time 
he  was  ashore  and  had  tied  the  Arrow  to  an  over- 
hanging tree.  Then  Tom  proceeded  to  where  Mr. 
Damon  had  left  his  stalled  automobile.  The  ec- 
centric man  was  wealthy  and  his  physician  had 
instructed  him  to  ride  about  in  the  car  for  his 
health.  Tom  soon  located  the  trouble.  The  car- 
buretor had  become  clogged,  and  it  was  soon  in 
working  order  again. 

"Well,  now  that  you  have  a  boat,  I  don't  sup- 
pose you  will  be  riding  about  the  country  so 
much,"  commented  Mr.  Damon  as  he  got  into  his 
car.  "Bless  my  spark-plug!  but  if  you  ever  get 
over  to  Waterfield,  where  I  live,  come  and  see  me. 
It's  handy  to  get  to  by  water." 


46        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"I'll  come  some  day,"  promised  the  lad. 

"Bless  my  hat  band,  but  I  hope  so,"  went  on 
the  eccentric  individual  as  he  prepared  to  start 
his  car. 

Tom  completed  the  remainder  of  the  trip  to  his 
boathouse  without  incident  and  his  father  came 
down  to  the  dock  to  see  the  motor-boat.  He 
agreed  with  his  son  that  it  was  a  bargain  and  that 
it  could  easily  be  put  in  fine  shape. 

The  youth  spent  all  the  next  day  and  part  of 
the  following  working  on  the  craft.  He  over- 
hauled the  ignition  system,  which  was  the  jump- 
spark  style,  cleaned  the  magneto  and  adjusted  the 
gasoline  and  compression  taps  so  that  they  fitted 
better.  Then  he  readjusted  the  rudder  lines,  tight- 
ening them  on  the  steering-wheel,  and  looked  over 
the  piping  from  the  gasoline  tank. 

The  tank  was  in  the  forward  compartment,  and, 
upon  inspecting  this,  the  lad  concluded  to  change 
the  plan  by  which  the  big  galvanized  iron  box  was 
held  in  place.  He  took  out  the  old  wooden  braces 
and  set  them  closer  together,  putting  in  a  few 
new  ones. 

"The  tank  will  not  vibrate  so  when  I'm  going  at 
full  speed,"  he  explained  to  his  father. 

"Is  that  where  the  strange  man  was  tampering 
with  the  lock  the  day  of  the  auction?"  asked  Mr. 
Swift. 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  47 

"Yes,  but  I  don't  see  what  he  could  want  in  this 
compartment,  do  you,  dad  ?" 

The  inventor  got  into  the  boat  and  looked  care- 
fully into  the  rather  dark  space  where  the  tank 
fitted.  He  went  over  every  inch  of  it,  and,  point- 
ing to  one  of  the  thick  wooden  blocks  that  sup- 
ported the  tank,  asked : 

"Did  you  bore  that  hole  in  there,  Tom  ?" 

"No,  it  was  there  before  I  touched  the  braces. 
But  it  isn't  a  hole,  or,  rather,  some  one  bored  it 
and  stopped  it  up  again.  It  doesn't  weaken  the 
brace  any." 

"No,  I  suppose  not.  I  was  just  wondering 
whether  that  was  one  of  the  new  blocks  or  an  olcj 
one." 

"Oh,  an  old  one.  I'm  going  to  paint  them,  too, 
so  in  case  the  water  leaks  in  or  the  gasoline  leaks 
out  the  wood  won't  be  affected.  A  gasoline  tank 
should  vibrate  as  little  as  possible,  if  you  don't 
want  it  to  leak.  I  guess  I'll  paint  the  whole  in- 
terior of  this  compartment  white,  then  I  can  see 
away  into  the  far  corners  of  it." 

"I  think  that's  a  good  idea,"  commented  Mr. 
Swift. 

It  was  four  days  after  his  purchase  of  the  boat 
before  Tom  was  ready  to  make  a  long  trip  in  it. 
Up  to  that  time  he  had  gone  on  short  spins  not  far 
from  the  dock,  in  order  to  test  the  engine  adjust- 


48        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

ment.  The  lad  found  it  was  working  very  well, 
but  he  decided  with  a  new  kind  of  spark  plugs 
for  the  two  cylinders  that  he  could  get  more  speed 
out  of  it.  Finally  the  forward  compartment  was 
painted,  a  general  overhauling  given  the  hull  and 
Tom  was  ready  to  put  his  boat  to  a  good  test. 

"Come  on,  Ned,"  he  said  to  his  chum  early  one 
evening  after  Mr.  Swift  had  said  he  was  too  tired 
to  go  out  on  a  trial  run.  "We'll  see  what  the 
'Arrow  will  do  now." 

From  the  time  Tom  started  up  the  motor  it  was 
evident  that  the  boat  was  going  through  the  water 
at  a  rapid  rate.  For  a  mile  or  more  the  two  lads 
speeded  along,  enjoying  it  hugely.  Then  Ned  ex- 
claimed : 

"Something's  coming  behind  us." 

Tom  turned  his  head  and  looked.  Then  he 
called  out : 

"It's  Mr.  Hastings  in  his  new  Carlopa.  I  won- 
der if  he  wants  a  race  ?" 

"Guess  he'd  have  it  all  his  own  way,"  suggested 
Ned. 

"Oh,  I  don't  know.  I  can  get  a  little  more  speed 
out  of  my  boat." 

Tom  waited  until  the  former  owner  of  the 
rArrow  was  up  to  him. 

"Want  a  race?"  asked  Mr.  Hastings  good- 
naturedly. 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  49 

"Sure!"  agreed  Tom,  and  he  shoved  the  timer 
ahead  to  produce  quicker  explosions. 

The  Arrow  seemed  to  leap  forward  and  for  a 
moment  was  ahead  of  the  Carlo  pa,  but  with  a 
motion  of  his  hand  to  the  spark  lever  Mr.  Hast- 
ings also  increased  his  speed.  For  a  moment  the 
two  boats  were  on  even  terms  and  then  the  larger 
and  newer  one  forged  ahead.  Tom  had  expected 
it,  but  he  was  a  little  disappointed. 

"That's  doing  first  rate,"  complimented  Mr. 
Hastings  as  he  passed  them.  "Better  than  I  was 
ever  able  to  make  her  do  even  when  she  was  new, 
Tom." 

This  made  the  present  owner  of  the  Arrow  feel 
somewhat  consoled.  He  and  Ned  ran  on  for  a 
few  miles,  the  Carlopa  in  the  meanwhile  disap- 
pearing from  view  around  a  bend.  Then  Tom 
and  his  chum  turned  around  and  made  for  the 
Swift  dock. 

"She  certainly  is  a  dandy  I"  declared  Ned.  "I 
wish  I  had  one  like  it." 

"Oh,  I  intend  that  you  shall  have  plenty  of  rides 
in  this,"  went  on  his  friend.  "When  you  get  your( 
vacation,  you  and  dad  and  I  are  going  on  a  tour," 
and  he  explained  his  plan,  which,  it  is  needless  to 
say,  met  with  Ned's  hearty  approval. 

Just  before  going  to  bed,  some  hours  later,  Tom 
decided  to  go  down  to  the  dock  to  make  sure  he 


50        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

had  shut  off  the  gasoline  cock  leading  from  the 
tank  of  his  boat  to  the  motor.  It  was  a  calm, 
early  summer  night,  with  a  new  moon  giving  a 
little  light,  and  the  lad  went  down  to  the  lake  in 
his  slippers.  As  he  neared  the  boathouse  he  heard 
a  noise. 

"Water  rat,"  he  murmured,  "or  maybe  musk- 
rats.  I  must  set  some  traps." 

As  Tom  entered  the  boathouse  he  started  back 
in  alarm,  for  a  bright  light  flashed  up,  almost  in 
his  eyes. 

"Who's  here?"  he  cried,  and  at  that  mordent 
some  one  sprang  out  of  his  motor-boat,  scrambled 
into  a  rowing  craft  which  the  youth  could  dimly 
make  out  in  front  of  the  dock  and  began  to  pull 
away  quickly. 

"Hold  on  there!"  cried  the  young  inventor. 
"Who  are  you  ?  What  do  you  want  ?  Come  back 
here!" 

The  person  in  the  boat  returned  no  answer. 
With  his  heart  doing  beats  over-time  Tom  lighted 
a  lantern  and  made  a  hasty  examination  of  the 
Arrow.  It  did  not  appear  to  have  been  harmed, 
but  a  glance  showed  that  the  door  of  the  gasoline 
compartment  had  been  unlocked  and  was  open. 
Tom  jumped  down  into  his  craft. 

"Some  one  has  been  at  that  compartment 
again!"  he  murmured.  "I  wonder  if  it  was  the 


A  TEST  OF  SPEED  51 

same  man  who  acted  so  suspiciously  at  the  auc- 
tion? What  can  his  object  be,  anyhow?" 

The  next  moment  he  uttered  an  exclamation  of 
startled  surprise  and  picked  up  something  from 
the  bottom  of  the  boat.  It  was  a  bunch  of  keys, 
with  a  tag  attached,  bearing  the  owner's  name. 

"Andy  Foger!"  murmured  Tom.  "Sc  this  is 
how  he  was  trying  to  get  even !  Maybe  he  started 
to  put  a  hole  in  the  tank  or  in  my  boat" 


CHAPTER  VI 

TOWING  SOME  GIRLS 

WITH  a  sense  of  anger  mingled  with  an  appre- 
hension lest  some  harm  should  have  been  done  to 
his  craft,  the  owner  of  the  Arrow  went  carefully 
over  it.  He  could  find  nothing  wrong.  The  en- 
gine was  all  right  and  all  that  appeared  to  have 
been  accomplished  by  the  unbidden  visitor  was  the 
opening  of  the  locked  forward  compartment. 
That  this  had  been  done  by  one  of  the  many  keys 
on  Andy  Foger's  ring  was  evident. 

"Now  what  could  have  been  his  object?"  mused 
Tom.  "I  should  think  if  he  wanted  to  put  a  hole 
in  the  boat  he  would  have  done  it  amidships,  where 
the  water  would  have  a  better  chance  to  come  in, 
or  perhaps  he  wanted  to  flood  it  with  gasoline 
and " 

The  idea  of  fire  was  in  Tom's  mind,  and  he  did 
not  finish  his  half-completed  thought. 

'That  may  have  been  it,"  he  resumed  after  a 
hasty  examination  of  the  gasoline  tank,  to  make 
sure  there  were  no  leaks  in  it.  "To  get  even  with 

52 


TOWING  SOME  GIRLS  53 

me  for  outbidding  him  on  the  boat,  Andy  may 
have  wanted  to  destroy  the  Arrow.  Well,  of  all 
the  mean  tricks,  that's  about  the  limit !  But  wait 
until  I  see  him.  I've  got  evidence  against  him," 
and  Tom  looked  at  the  key  ring.  "I  could  almost 
have  him  arrested  for  this." 

Going  outside  the  boathouse,  Tom  stood  on  the 
edge  of  the  dock  and  peered  into  the  darkness. 
He  could  hear  the  faint  sound  of  some  one  row- 
ing across  the  lake,  but  there  was  no  light. 

"He  had  one  of  those  electric  flash  lanterns," 
decided  Tom.  "If  I  hadn't  found  his  keys,  I 
might  have  thought  it  was  Happy  Harry  instead 
of  Andy. 

The  young  inventor  went  back  into  the  house 
after  carefully  locking  the  boat  compartment  and 
detaching  from  the  engine  an  electrical  device, 
without  which  the  motor  in  the  Arrow  could  not 
be  started. 

"That  will  prevent  them  from  running  away 
with  my  boat,  anyhow,"  decided  Tom.  "And  I'll 
tell  Garret  Jackson  to  keep  a  sharp  watch  to- 
night." Jackson  was  the  engineer  at  Mr.  Swift's 
workshop. 

Tom  told  his  father  of  the  happening  and  Mr. 
Swift  was  properly  indignant  He  wanted  to  go 
at  once  to  see  Mr.  Foger  and  complain  of  Andy's 
act,  but  Tom  counseled  waiting. 


54        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"I'll  attend  to  Andy  myself,"  said  the  young 
inventor.  "He's  getting  desperate,  I  guess,  or  he 
wouldn't  try  to  set  the  place  on  fire.  But  wait 
until  I  show  him  these  keys." 

Bright  and  early  the  next  morning  the  owner 
of  the  motor-boat  was  down  to  the  dock  inspect- 
ing it.  The  engineer,  who  had  been  on  watch 
part  of  the  night,  reported  that  there  had  been  no 
disturbance,  and  Tom  found  everything  all  right. 

"I  wonder  if  I'd  better  go  over  and  accuse  Andy 
now  or  wait  until  I  see  him  and  spring  this  evi- 
dence on  him?"  thought  our  hero.  Then  he  de- 
cided it  would  be  better  to  wait.  He  took  the 
Arrow  out  after  breakfast,  his  father  going  on  a 
short  spin  with  him. 

"But  I  must  go  back  now  and  work  on  my 
gyroscope  invention,"  said  Mr.  Swift  when  about 
two  hours  had  been  spent  on  the  lake.  "I  am 
making  good  progress  with  it." 

"You  need  a  vacation,"  decided  Tom.  "I'll  be 
ready  to  take  you  and  Ned  in  about  two  weeks. 
He  will  have  two  weeks  off  then  and  we'll  have 
some  glorious  times  together." 

That  afternoon  Tom  put  some  new  style  spark 
plugs  in  the  cylinders  of  his  motor  and  found  that 
he  had  considerably  increased  the  revolutions  of 
the  engine,  due  to  a  better  explosion  being  ob* 
tained.  He  also  made  some  minor  adjustments 


TOWING  SOME  GIRLS  55 

and  the  next  day  he  went  out  alone  for  a  long- 
run. 

Heading  up  the  lake,  Tom  was  soon  in  sight  of 
a  popular  excursion  resort  that  was  frequently 
visited  by  church  and  Sunday-school  organiza- 
tions in  the  vicinity  of  Shopton.  The  lad  saw  a 
number  of  rowing  craft  and  a  small  motor-boat 
circling  around  opposite  the  resort  and  remarked : 

"There  must  be  a  picnic  at  the  grove  to-day. 
Guess  I'll  run  up  and  take  a  look." 

The  lad  was  soon  in  the  midst  of  quite  a  flotilla 
of  rowboats,  most  of  them  manned  by  pretty  girls 
or  in  charge  of  boys  who  were  giving  sisters  (their 
own  or  some  other  chap's)  a  trip  on  the  water. 
Tom  throttled  his  boat  down  to  slow  speed  and 
looked  with  pleasure  on  the  pretty  scene.  His 
boat  attracted  considerable  attention,  for  motor 
traft  were  not  numerous  on  Lake  Carlopa. 

As  our  hero  passed  a  boat,  containing  three 
very  pretty  young  ladies,  Tom  heard  one  of  them 
exclaim : 

"There  he  is  now !    That's  Tom  Swift/' 

Something  in  the  tones  of  the  voice  attracted 
his  attention.  He  turned  and  saw  a  brown-eyed 
girl  smiling  at  him.  She  bowed  and  asked,  blush- 
ing the  while : 

"Well,  have  you  caught  any  more  runaway 
horses  lately?" 


56        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Runaway  horses — why — what  ?  Oh,  it's  Miss 
Nestor !"  exclaimed  the  lad,  recognizing  the  young 
lady  whose  steed  he  had  frightened  one  day  when 
he  was  on  his  bicycle.  As  told  in  the  first  volume 
of  this  series,  the  horse  had  run  away,  being 
alarmed  at  the  flashing  of  Tom's  wheel,  and  Miss 
Mary  Nestor,  of  Mansburg,  was  in  grave  danger. 

"So  you've  given  up  the  bicycle  for  the  motor- 
boat/'  went  on  the  young  lady. 

"Yes,"  replied  Tom  with  a  smile,  shutting  off 
the  power,  "and  I  haven't  had  a  chance  to  save 
any  girls  since  I've  had  it." 

The  two  boats  had  drifted  close  together,  and 
Miss  Nestor  introduced  her  two  companions  to 
Tom. 

"Don't  you  want  to  come  in  and  take  a  ride?* 
he  asked. 

"Is  it  safe?"  asked  Jennie  Haddon,  one  of  the 
trio. 

"Of  course  it  is,  Jennie,  or  he  wouldn't  be  out 
in  it,"  said  Miss  Nestor  hastily.  "Come  on,  let's 
get  in.  I'm  just  dying  for  a  motor-boat  ride." 

"What  will  we  do  with  our  boat  ?"  asked  Katie 
Carson. 

"Oh,  I  can  tow  that,"  replied  the  youth.  "Get 
right  in  and  I'll  take  you  all  around  the  lake." 

"Not  too  far,"  stipulated  the  girl  who  had 
figured  in  the  runaway.  "We  must  be  back  for 


TOWING  SOME  GIRLS  57 

luncti,  which  will  be  served  in  about  an  hour. 
Our  church  and  Sunday-school  are  having  a 
picnic." 

"Maybe  Mr.  Swift  will  come  and  have  some 
lunch  with  us,"  suggested  Miss  Carson,  blushing 
prettily. 

"Nothing  would  give  me  greater  pleasure,"  an- 
swered Tom,  and  then  he  laughed  at  his  formal 
reply,  the  girls  joining  in. 

"We'd  be  glad  to  have  you,"  added  Miss  Had- 
<k>n.  "Oh !"  she  suddenly  screamed,  "the  boat's 
tipping  over!" 

"Oh,  no,"  Tom  hastened  to  assure  her,  coming 
to  the  side  to  help  her  in.  "It  just  tilts  a  bit,  with 
the  weight  of  so  many  on  one  side.  It  couldn't 
capsize  if  it  tried." 

In  another  moment  the  three  were  in  the  roomy 
cockpit  and  Tom  had  made  the  empty  rowboat 
fast  to  the  stern.  He  was  about  to  start  up  when 
from  another  boat,  containing  two  little  girls  and 
two  slightly  larger  boys,  came  a  plaintive  cry : 

"Oh,  mister,  give  us  a  ride !" 

"Sure!"  agreed  Tom  pleasantly.  "Just  fasten 
your  boat  to  the  other  rowboat  and  I'll  tow  you." 

One  of  the  boys  did  this,  and  then,  with  three 
pretty  girls  as  his  companions  in  the  Arrow  and 
towing  the  two  boats,  Tom  started  off. 

The  girls  were  very  much  interested  in  the  craft 


58        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

and  asked  all  sorts  of  questions  about  how  the 
engine  operated.  Tom  explained  as  clearly  as  he 
could  how  the  gasoline  exploded  in  the  cylinders, 
about  the  electric  spark  and  about  the  propeller. 
Then,  when  he  had  finished,  Miss  Haddon  re- 
marked naively: 

"Oh,  Mr.  Swift,  you've  explained  it  beauti- 
fully, and  I'm  sure  if  our  teacher  in  school  made 
things  as  clear  as  you  have  that  I  could  get  along 
fine.  I  understand  all  about  it,  except  I  don't  see 
what  makes  the  engine  go." 

"Oh,"  said  Tom  faintly,  and  he  wondering 
what  would  be  the  best  remark  to  make  under  the 
circumstances,  when  Miss  Nestor  created  a  diver- 
sion by  looking  at  her  watch  and  exclaiming : 

"Oh,  girls,  it's  lunch  time!  We  must  go 
ashore.  Will  you  kindly  put  about,  Mr.  Swift — I 
hope  that  is  the  proper  term — and — land  us — i» 
that  right?"  and  she  looked  archly  at  Tom. 

"That's  perfectly  right/'  he  admitted  with  a 
laugh  and  a  glance  into  the  girl's  brown  eyes. 
"I'll  put  you  ashore  at  once,"  and  he  headed  for  a 
small  dock. 

"And  come  yourself  to  take  lunch  with  us," 
added  Miss  Haddon. 

"I'm  afraid  I  might  be  in  the  way,"  stammered 
Tom.  "I — I  have  a  pretty  good  appetite, 
and " 


TOWING  SOME  GIRLS  59 

"I  suppose  you  think  that  girls  on  c.  picnic  don't 
take  much  lunch,"  finished  Miss  Nestor.  "But  I 
assure  you  that  we  have  plenty,  and  that  you  will 
be  very  welcome,"  she  added  warmly. 

"Yes,  and  I'd  like  to  have  him  explain  over 
again  how  the  engine  works,"  went  on  Miss  Had- 
don.  "I  am  so  interested." 

Tom  helped  the  girls  out,  receiving  their  thanks 
as  well  as  those  of  the  children  in  the  second  boat. 
Bs&  as  he  walked  with  the  young  ladies  through 
the  grove  the  young  inventor  registered  a  mental 
vow  that  he  would  steer  clear  of  explaining  again 
how  a  gasoline  engine  worked. 

"Now  come  right  over  this  way  to  our  xable," 
invited  Miss  Nestor.  "I  want  you  to  meet  papa 
and  mamma." 

Tom  followed  her.  As  he  stepped  from  behind 
a  clump  of  trees  he  saw,  standing  not  far  away,  a 
figure  that  seemed  strangely  familiar.  A  moment 
later  the  figure  turned  and  Tom  saw  Andy  Foger 
confronting  him.  At  the  sight  of  our  hero  the 
bully  turned  red  and  walked  quickly  away,  while 
Tom's  fingers  touched  the  ring  of  keys  in  his 
pocket. 


CHAPTER  VII 

A   BRUSH    WITH   ANDY 

So  UNEXPECTED  was  his  encounter  with  Andy 
that  the  young  inventor  hardly  knew  how  to  act, 
especially  since  he  was  a  guest  of  the  young  ladies, 
Tom  did  not  want  to  do  or  say  anything  to  em- 
barrasc  them  or  make  a  scene,  yet  he  did  want  to 
have  a  talk,  and  a  very  serious  talk,  with  Andy 
Foger. 

Miss  Nestor  must  have  noticed  Tom's  sudden 
start  at  his  glimpse  of  Andy,  for  she  asked : 

"Did  you  see  some  one  you  knew,  Mr.  Swift?" 

"Yes,"  replied  Tom,  "I  did— er— that  is " 

He  paused  in  some  confusion. 

"Perhaps  you'd  like — that  is  prefer — to  go  with 
them  instead  of  taking  lunch  with  girls  who  don't 
know  anything  about  engines?"  she  persisted. 

"Oh,  no  indeed,"  Tom  hastened  to  assure  hen 
"He — that  is — the  person  I  saw  wouldn't  care  to 
have  me  lunch  with  him,"  and  the  youth  smiled 
grimly. 

60 


A  BRUSH  WITH  ANDY  6l 

"Would  you  like  to  bring  him  over  to  our 
table?"  inquired  Miss  Carson.  "We  have  plenty 
for  him." 

"No,  I  think  that  would  hardly  do,"  continued 
the  lad,  who  tried  not  to  smile  at  the  picture  of 
the  red-haired  and  squint-eyed  Andy  Foger  mak- 
ing one  of  a  party  with  the  girls.  The  young 
ladies  fortunately  had  not  noticed  the  bully,  who 
was  out  of  view  by  this  time. 

Tom  was  presented  to  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Nestor, 
who  told  him  how  glad  they  were  to  meet  the 
young  man  who  had  been  instrumental  in  saving 
their  daughter  from  injury,  if  not  death.  Tom 
was  a  bit  embarrassed,  but  bore  the  praise  as  well 
as  he  could,  and  he  was  very  glad  when  a  diver- 
sion, in  the  shape  of  lunch,  occurred. 

After  a  meal  on  tables  under  the  trees  in  the 
grove  Tom  took  the  girls  and  some  of  their 
friends  out  in  his  motor-boat  again.  They  cov- 
ered several  miles  around  the  lake  before  return- 
ing to  the  picnic  ground. 

As  Tom  was  starting  toward  home  in  his  boat, 
wondering  what  had  become  of  Andy  and  trying 
to  think  of  a  reason  why  the  bully  should  attend 
anything  as  "tame"  as  a  church  picnic,  the  object 
of  his  thoughts  came  strolling  through  the  trees 
down  to  the  shore  of  the  lake.  The  moment  he 
saw  Tom  the  red-haired  lad  started  back,  but  the 


62        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

young  inventor,  leaping  out  of  his  boat,  called 
out: 

"Hold  on  there,  Andy  Foger,  I  want  to  see 
you !"  and  there  was  menace  in  Tom's  tone. 

"But  I  don't  want  to  see  you!"  retorted  the 
other  sulkily.  "I've  got  no  use  for  you." 

"No  more  have  I  for  you,"  was  Tom's  quick 
reply.  "But  I  want  to  return  you  these  keys. 
You  dropped  them  in  my  boat  the  other  night 
when  you  tried  to  set  it  afire.  If  I  ever  catch 
you " 

"My  keys!  Your  boat!  On  fire!"  gasped 
Andy,  40  plainly  astonished  that  Tom  knew  his 
surprise  was  genuine. 

"Yes,  your  keys.  You  were  a  little  too  quick 
for  me  or  I'd  have  caught  you  at  it.  The  next 
time  you  pick  a  lock  don't  leave  your  keys  behind 
you,"  and  he  held  out  the  jingling  ring. 

Andy  Foger  advanced  slowly.  He  took  the 
bunch  of  keys  and  looked  at  the  tag. 

"They  are  mine,"  he  said  slowly,  as  if  there 
was  some  doubt  about  it. 

"Of  course  they  are,"  declared  Tom.  "I  found 
them  where  you  dropped  them — in  my  boat." 

"Do  you  mean  over  at  the  auction  ?" 

"No,  I  mean  down  in  my  boathouse,  where  you 
sneaked  in  the  other  night  and  tried  to  do  some 
damage." 


A  BRUSH  WITH  ANDY  63 

"The  other  night !"  cried  Andy.  "I  never  was 
near  your  boathouse  any  night  and  I  never  lost 
my  keys  there!  I  lost  these  the  day  of  the  auc- 
tion, on  Mr.  Hastings'  ground,  and  I've  been 
looking  for  them  ever  since." 

"Didn't  you  sneak  in  my  boathouse  the  other 
night  and  try  to  do  some  mischief?  Didn't  you 
drop  them  then  ?" 

"No,  I  didn't,"  retorted  Andy  earnestly.  "I  lost 
those  keys  at  the  auction,  and  I  can  prove  it  to 
you.  Look,  I  advertised  for  them  in  the  weekly 
Gazette" 

The  red-haired  lad  pulled  a  crumpled  paper 
from  his  pocket  and  showed  Tom  an  advertise- 
ment offering  a  reward  of  two  dollars  for  a  bunch 
of  keys  on  a  ring,  supposed  to  have  been  lost  at 
the  auction  on  Mr.  Hastings'  grounds  in  Lanton. 
The  finder  was  to  return  them  to  Andy  Foger. 

"Does  that  look  as  if  I  lost  the  keys  in  your 
boathouse?"  demanded  the  bully  sneeringly.  "I 
wouldn't  have  advertised  them  that  way  if  I'd 
been  trying  to  keep  my  visit  quiet.  Besides,  I  can 
prove  that  I  was  out  of  town  several  nights.  I 
was  over  to  an  entertainment  in  Mansburg  one 
night  and  I  didn't  get  home  until  two  o'clock  in 
the  morning,  because  my  machine  broke  down. 
Ask  Ned  Newton.  He  saw  me  at  the  entertain- 
ment," 


64        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Andy's  manner  was  so  earnest  that  Tom  could 
not  help  believing  him.  Then  there  was  the  evi- 
dence of  the  advertisement  Clearly  the  squint- 
eyed  youth  had  not  been  the  mysterious  visitor  to 
the  boathouse  and  had  not  unlocked  the  forward 
compartment.  But  if  it  was  not  he,  who  could  it 
have  been  and  how  did  the  keys  get  there  ?  These 
were  questions  which  racked  Tom's  brain. 

"You  can  ask  Ned  Newton,"  repeated  Andy. 
"He'll  prove  that  I  couldn't  have  been  near  your 
place,  if  you  don't  believe  me." 

"Oh,  I  believe  you  all  right/'  answered  Tom, 
for  there  could  be  no  doubting  Andy's  manner, 
even  though  he  and  the  young  inventor  were  not 
on  good  terms.  "But  how  did  your  keys  get  in 
my  boat?" 

"I  don't  know,  unless  you  found  them,  kept 
them  and  dropped  them  there,"  was  the  insolent 
answer. 

"You  know  better  than  that,"  exclaimed  Tom, 

"Well,  I  owe  you  a  reward  of  two  dollars  for 
giving  them  back  to  me,"  continued  the  bully 
patronizingly.  "Here  it  is,"  and  he  hauled  out 
some  bills. 

"I  don't  want  your  money!"  fired  back  Tom. 
"But  I'd  like  to  know  who  it  was  that  was  in  my 
boat." 

"And  I'd  like  to  know  who  it  was  took  my 


A  BRUSH  WITH  ANDY  65 

keys,"  and  Andy  stuffed  the  money  back  in  his 
pocket.  Tom  did  not  answer.  He  was  puzzling 
over  a  queer  matter  and  he  wanted  to  be  alone 
and  think.  He  turned  aside  from  the  red-haired 
lad  and  walked  toward  his  motor-boat. 

"I'll  give  you  a  surprise  in  a  few  days,"  Andy 
called  after  him,  but  Tom  did  not  turn  his  head 
nor  did  he  inquire  what  the  surprise  might  be. 

Mr.  Swift  was  somewhat  puzzled  when  his  son 
related  the  outcome  of  the  key  incident.  He 
agreed  with  Tom  that  some  one  might  have  found 
the  ring  and  kept  it,  and  that  the  same  person 
might  have  been  the  one  whom  Tom  had  surprised 
in  the  boathouse. 

"But  it's  idle  to  speculate  on  it,"  commented 
the  inventor.  "Andy  might  have  induced  some  of 
his  chums  to  act  for  him  in  harming  your  boat, 
and  the  key  advertisement  might  have  been  only 
a  ruse." 

"I  hardly  think  so,"  answered  his  son,  shaking 
his  head.  "It  strikes  me  as  being  very  curious, 
and  I'm  going  to  see  if  I  can't  get  at  the  bottom 
Of  it." 

But  a  week  or  more  passed  and  Tom  had  no 
clew.  In  the  meanwhile  he  was  working  away  at 
his  motor-boat,  installing  several  improvements. 

One  of  these  was  a  better  pump,  which  circu- 
lated the  water  around  the  cylinders,  and  another 


66        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

was  a  new  system  of  lubrication  under  forced 
feed. 

'This  ought  to  give  me  a  little  more  speed," 
reasoned  Tom,  who  was  not  yet  satisfied  with  his 
craft.  "Guess  I'll  take  it  out  for  a  spin." 

He  was  alone  in  the  Arrow,  taking  a  long 
course  up  the  lake  when,  as  he  passed  a  wooded 
point  that  concealed  from  view  a  sort  of  bay,  he 
heard  the  puffing  of  another  motor-boat. 

"Maybe  that's  Mr.  Hastings,"  thought  Tom, 
"If  I  raced  with  him  now,  I  think  the  Arrow 
could  give  a  better  account  of  herself. 

The  young  inventor  looked  at  the  boat  as  it 
came  into  view.  It  needed  but  a  glance  to  show 
that  it  was  not  the  Carlopa.  Then,  as  it  came 
nearer,  Tom  saw  a  familiar  figure  in  it — a  red- 
haired,  squint-eyed  chap. 

"Andy  Foger!"  exclaimed  Tom.  "He's  got  a 
motor-boat !  This  is  the  surprise  he  spoke  of." 

The  boat  was  rapidly  approaching  him,  and  he 
saw  that  it  was  painted  a  vivid  red.  Then  he 
could  make  out  the  name  on  the  bow,  Red  Streak. 
Andy  was  sending  the  craft  toward  him  at  a  fast 
rate. 

"You  needn't  think  you're  the  only  one  on  this 
lake  who  has  a  gasoline  boat !"  called  Andy  boast- 
fully. "This  is  my  new  one  and  the  fastest  thing 


A  BRUSH  WITH  ANDY  67 

afloat  around  here.  I  can  go  all  around  you.  Do 
you  want  to  race?" 

It  was  a  "dare,"  and  Tom  never  took  such 
things  when  he  could  reasonably  enter  a  contest. 
He  swung  his  boat  around  so  as  to  shoot  along- 
side of  Andy  and  answered : 

"Yes,  I'll  race  you.    Where  to?" 

"Down  opposite  Kolb's  dock  and  back  to  this 
point,"  was  the  answer.  "I'll  give  you  a  start,  as 
my  engine  has  three  cylinders.  This  is  a  racing 
boat." 

"I  don't  need  any  start,"  declared  Tom.  "I'll 
race  you  on  even  terms.  Go  ahead !" 

Both  lads  adjusted  their  timers  to  get  more 
speed.  The  water  began  to  curl  away  from  the 
sharp  prows,  the  motors  exploded  faster  and 
faster.  The  race  was  on  between  the  Arrow  and 
the  Red  Streak. 


CHAPTER  VIII 

OFF  ON  A  TRIP 

GLANCING  with  critical  eyes  at  the  craft  of  his 
rival,  Tom  saw  that  Andy  Foger  had  a  very  fine 
boat.  The  young  inventor  also  realized  that  if  he 
was  to  come  anywhere  near  winning  the  race  he 
would  have  to  get  the  utmost  speed  out  of  his  en- 
gine, for  the  new  boat  the  bully  had  was  designed 
primarily  for  racing,  while  Tom's  was  an  all- 
around  pleasure  craft,  though  capable  of  some- 
thing in  the  speed  line, 

"I'll  be  giving  you  a  tow  in  a  few  minutes,  as 
soon  as  my  engine  gets  warmed  up!"  sneered 
Andy. 

"Maybe,"  said  Tom,  and  then  he  crouched 
down  to  make  as  little  resistance  as  possible  to 
the  wind.  Andy,  on  the  contrary,  sat  boldly  up- 
right at  the  auto  steering-wheel  of  his  boat. 

On  rushed  the  two  motor  craft,  their  prows  ex- 
actly even  and  the  propellers  tossing  up  a  bulge 
in  the  water  at  their  sterns.  Rapidly  acquiring 
speed  after  the  two  lads  had  adjusted  the  timers 

68 


OFF  ON  A  TRIP  69 

on  their  motors,  the  boats  were  racing  side  by 
side,  seemingly  on  even  terms. 

The  Red  Streak  had  a  very  sharp  prow,  de- 
signed to  cut  through  the  water.  It  was  of  the 
type  known  as  an  automobile  launch.  That  is,  the 
engine  was  located  forward,  under  a  sort  of  hood, 
which  had  two  hinged  covers  like  a  bat's  wings. 
The  steering-wheel  shaft  went  through  the  for- 
ward bulkhead,  slantingly,  like  the  wheel  of  an 
auto,  and  was  arranged  with  gasoline  and  spark- 
ing levers  on  the  center  post  in  a  similar  manner. 
At  the  right  of  the  wheel  was  a  reversing  lever,  by 
which  the  propeller  blades  could  be  set  at  neutral, 
or  arranged  so  as  to  drive  the  boat  backward.  Al- 
together the  Red  Streak  was  a  very  fine  boat  and 
had  cost  considerably  more  than  had  Tom's,  even 
when  the  latter  was  new.  All  these  things  the 
young  owner  of  the  Arrow  thought  of  as  he 
steered  his  craft  over  the  course. 

"I  hardly  think  I  can  win,"  Tom  remarked  to 
himself  in  a  whisper.  "His  boat  is  too  speedy  for 
this  one.  I  have  a  chance,  though,  for  his  engine 
is  new,  and  I  don't  believe  he  understands  it  as 
well  as  I  do  mine.  Then,  too,  I  am  sure  I  have  a 
better  ignition  system." 

But  if  Tom  had  any  immediate  hopes  of  defeat- 
ing Andy,  they  were  doomed  to  disappointment, 


70        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

for  about  two  minutes  after  the  race  started  the 
Red  Streak  forged  slowly  ahead. 

"Come  on!"  cried  the  red-haired  lad.  "I 
thought  you  wanted  a  race." 

"I  do/'  answered  the  young  inventor.  "We're 
a  long  way  from  the  dock  yet,  and  we've  got  to 
come  back." 

"You'll  be  out  of  it  by  the  time  I  get  to  the 
dock,"  declared  Andy. 

Indeed  it  began  to  look  so,  for  the  auto  boat 
was  now  a  full  length  ahead  of  Tom's  craft  and 
there  was  open  water  between  them.  But  our 
hero  knew  a  thing  or  two  about  racing,  though  he 
had  not  long  been  a  motor-boat  owner.  He  ad- 
justed the  automatic  oiler  on  the  cylinders  to  give 
more  lubrication,  as  he  intended  to  get  more  speed 
out  of  his  engine.  Then  he  opened  the  gasoline 
cock  a  trifle  more  and  set  his  timer  forward  a  few 
notches  to  get  an  earlier  spark.  He  was  not  going 
to  use  the  maximum  speed  just  yet,  but  he  first 
wanted  to  see  how  the  motor  of  the  Arrow  would 
behave  under  these  conditions.  To  his  delight  he 
saw  his  boat  slowly  creeping  up  on  Andy's.  The 
latter,  with  a  glance  over  his  shoulder,  saw  it  too, 
and  he  advanced  his  spark.  His  craft  forged 
ahead,  but  the  rate  of  increase  was  not  equal  to 
Tom's. 

"If  I  can  keep  up  to  him  I  suppose  I  ought  to 


OFF  ON  A  TRIP  71 

be  glad,"  thought  the  young  inventor,  "for  his 
boat  is  away  ahead  of  mine  in  rating." 

Through  the  water  the  sharp  bows  cut.  There 
were  only  a  few  witnesses  to  the  race,  but  those 
who  were  out  in  boats  saw  a  pretty  sight  as  the 
two  speedy  craft  came  on  toward  the  dock,  which 
was  the  turning  point. 

Andy's  boat  reached  it  first,  and  swung  about 
in  a  wide  circle  for  the  return.  Tom  decided  it 
was  time  to  make  his  boat  do  its  best,  so  he  set 
the  timer  at  the  limit,  and  the  spark,  coming  more 
quickly,  increased  the  explosions. 

Up  shot  the  Arrow  and,  straightening  out  after 
the  turn,  Tom's  craft  crept  along  until  it  lapped 
the  stern  of  the  Red  Streak.  Andy  looked  back  in 
dismay.  Then  he  tried  to  get  more  speed  out  of 
his  engine.  He  did  cause  the  screw  to  revolve  a 
little  faster,  and  Tom  noted  that  he  was  again 
being  left  behind.  Then  one  of  those  things  which 
may  happen  at  any  time  to  a  gasoline  motor  hap- 
pened to  Andy's.  It  began  to  miss  explosions.  At 
first  it  was  only  occasionally,  then  the  misses  be- 
came more  frequent. 

The  owner  of  the  Red  Streak  with  one  hand  on 
the  steering-wheel,  tried  with  the  other  to  adjust 
the  motor  to  get  rid  of  the  trouble,  but  he  only 
made  it  worse.  Andy's  boat  began  to  fall  back 
and  Tom's  to  creep  up.  Frantically  Andy  worked 


72        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

the  gasoline  and  sparking  levers,  but  without 
avail.  At  last  one  cylinder  went  completely  out  of 
service. 

The  two  boats  were  now  on  even  terms  and 
were  racing  along  side  by  side  toward  the  wooded 
point,  which  marked  the  finish. 

"I'll  beat  you  yet !"  exclaimed  Andy  fiercely. 

"Better  hurry  up  1"  retorted  Tom. 

But  the  young  inventor  was  not  to  have  it  all 
ins  own  way.  With  a  freakishness  equal  to  that 
with  which  it  had  ceased  to  explode  the  dead 
cylinder  came  to  life  again,  and  the  Red  Streak 
shot  ahead.  Once  more  Andy's  boat  had  the  lead 
of  a  length  and  the  finish  of  the  race  was  close  at 
hand.  The  squint-eyed  lad  turned  and  shouted: 

"I  told  you  I'd  beat  you !    Want  a  tow  now  ?" 

It  began  to  look  as  though  Tom  would  need  it, 
but  he  still  had  something  in  reserve.  One  of  the 
improvements  he  had  put  in  the  Arrow  was  a  new 
auxiliary  ignition  system.  This  he  now  decided 
to  use. 

With  a  quick  motion  Tom  threw  over  the 
switch  that  put  it  into  operation.  A  hotter,  "fat- 
ter" spark  was  at  once  produced,  and  adjusting 
his  gasoline  cock  so  that  a  little  more  of  the  fluid 
would  be  drawn  in,  making  a  "richer"  mixture, 
the  owner  of  the  Arrow  saw  the  craft  shoot  for- 


OFF  ON  A  TRIP 


73 


ward  as  if,  like  some  weary  runner,  new  life  had 
been  infused. 

In  vain  did  Andy  frantically  try  to  get  more 
speed  out  of  his  motor.  He  cut  out  the  muffler, 
and  the  explosions  sounded  loudly  over  the  lake. 
But  it  was  no  use.  A  minute  later  the  Arrow, 
which  had  slowly  forged  ahead,  crossed  the  bows 
of  the  Red  Streak  opposite  the  finishing  point,  and 
Tom  had  won  the  race. 

"Well,  was  that  fair?"  our  hero  called  to  Andy, 
who  had  quickly  shut  off  some  of  his  power  as  he 
saw  his  rival's  daring  trick.  "Did  I  beat  you 
fair?" 

"You  wouldn't  have  beaten  me  if  my  engine 
hadn't  gone  back  on  me,"  grumbled  Andy,  chagrin 
showing  on  his  face.  "Wait  until  my  motor  runs 
smoother  and  I'll  give  you  a  big  handicap  and 
beat  you.  My  boat's  faster  than  yours.  It  ought 
to  be.  It  cost  fifteen  hundred  dollars  and  it's  a 
racer." 

"I  guess  it  doesn't  like  racing,"  commented 
Tom  as  he  swung  the  prow  of  his  craft  down  the 
Jake  toward  his  home.  But  he  knew  there  was 
some  truth  in  what  Andy  had  said.  The  Red 
Streak  was  a  more  speedy  boat,  and,  with  proper 
handling,  could  have  beaten  the  Arrow.  That  was 
where  Tom's  superior  knowledge  came  in  useful. 

"Just  you  wait,  I'll  beat  you  yet,"  called  Andy 


74        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

after  the  young  inventor,  but  the  latter  made  no 
answer.  He  was  satisfied. 

Mr.  Swift  was  much  interested  that  night  in 
his  son's  account  of  the  race. 

"I  had  no  idea  yours  was  such  a  speedy  boat/3 
he  said. 

"Well,  it  wasn't  originally,"  admitted  Tom, 
"but  the  improvements  I  put  on  it  made  it  so. 
But,  dad,  when  are  we  going  on  our  tour?  You 
look  more  worn  out  than  I've  seen  you  in  some 
time,  not  excepting  when  the  turbine  model  was 
stolen.  Are  you  worrying  over  your  gyroscope 
invention  ?" 

"Somewhat,  Tom.  I  can't  seem  to  hit  on  just 
what  I  want.  It's  a  difficult  problem." 

"Then  I  tell  you  what  let's  do,  dad.  Let's  drop 
everything  in  the  inventive  line  and  go  off  on  a 
vacation.  I'll  take  you  up  the  lake  in  my  boat 
and  you  can  spend  a  week  at  the  Lakeview  Hotel 
at  Sandport.  It  will  do  you  good." 

"What  will  you  do,  Tom?" 

"Oh,  Ned  Newton  and  I  will  cruise  about  and 
we'll  take  you  along  any  time  you  want  to  go. 
We're  going  to  camp  out  nights  or  sleep  in  ths 
boat  if  it  rains.  I've  ordered  a  canopy  with  side 
curtains.  Ned  and  I  don't  care  for  the  hotel  life 
in  the  summer.  Will  you  go  ?" 

Mr.  Swift  considered  a  moment.    He  did  need 


OFF  ON  A  TRIP  75) 

a  rest,  for  he  had  been  working  hard  and  his 
brain  was  weary  with  thinking  of  many  problems. 
His  son's  program  sounded  very  attractive. 

"I  think  I  will  accept,"  said  the  inventor  with 
a  smile.  "When  can  you  start,  Tom  ?" 

"In  about  four  days.  Ned  Newton  will  get  his 
vacation  then  and  I'll  have  the  canopy  on.  I'll 
start  to  work  at  it  to-morrow.  Then  we'll  go  on 
a  trip." 

Sandport  was  a  summer  resort  at  the  extreme 
southern  end  of  Lake  Carlopa,  and  Mr.  Swift  at 
once  wrote  to  the  Lakeview  Hotel  there  to  engage 
a  room  for  himself.  In  the  meanwhile  Tom  be- 
gan to  put  the  canopy  on  his  boat  and  arrange  for 
the  trip,  which  would  take  nearly  a  whole  day. 
Ned  Newton  was  delighted  with  the  prospect  of  a 
camping  tour  and  helped  Tom  to  get  ready.  They 
took  a  small  tent  and  plenty  of  supplies,  with  some 
food.  They  did  not  need  to  carry  many  rations, 
as  the  shores  of  the  lake  were  lined  with  towns 
and  villages  where  food  could  be  procured. 

Finally  all  was  ready  for  the  trip  and  the 
night  before  the  start  Ned  Newton  stayed  at 
Tom's  house  so  as  to  be  in  readiness  for  going  off 
early  in  the  morning.  The  day  was  all  that  could 
be  desired,  Tom  noted,  as  he  and  his  chum  hurried 
down  to  the  dock  before  breakfast  to  put  their 


76        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

blankets  in  the  boat.  As  the  young  inventor  en* 
tered  the  craft  he  uttered  an  exclamation. 

"What's  the  matter?"  asked  Ned. 

"I  was  sure  I  locked  the  sliding  door  of  that 
forward  compartment/'  was  the  reply.  "Now  it's 
open."  He  looked  inside  the  space  occupied  by 
the  gasoline  tank  and  cried  out:  "One  of  tht 
braces  is  gone!  There's  been  some  one  at  my 
boat  in  the  night  and  they  tried  to  damage  her." 

"Much  harm  done?'  'asked  Ned  anxiously. 

"No,  none  at  all,  to  speak  of,"  replied  Tom.  "I 
can  easily  put  a  new  block  under  the  tank.  In 
fact,  I  don't  really  need  all  I  have.  But  why 
should  any  one  take  one  out,  and  who  did  it? 
That's  what  I  want  to  know." 

The  two  lads  looked  carefully  about  the  dock 
and  boat  for  a  sign  of  the  missing  block  or  any 
clews  that  might  show  who  had  been  tampering 
with  the  Arrow,  but  they  could  find  nothing. 

"Maybe  the  block  fell  out,"  suggested  Ned. 

"It  couldn't,"  replied  Tom.  "It  was  one  of  the 
new  ones  I  put  in  myself  and  it  was  nailed  fast. 
You  can  see  where  it's  been  pried  loose.  I  can't 
understand  it,"  and  Tom  thought  rapidly  of  sev- 
eral mysterious  occurrences  of  late  in  which  the 
strange  man  at  the  auction  and  the  person  he  had 
surprised  one  night  in  the  boathouse  had  a  part. 

"Well,  it  needn't  delay  our  trip,"  resumed  the 


OFF  ON  A  TRIP  77 

young  inventor.  "Maybe  there's  a  hoodoo  around 
here,  and  it  will  do  us  good  to  get  away  a  few 
days.  Come  on,  we'll  have  breakfast,  get  dad  and 
start." 

A  little  later  the  Arrow  was  puffing  away  up 
the  lake  in  the  direction  of  Sandport. 


CHAPTER  IX 

MR.  SWIFT  IS  ALARMED 

"DON'T  you  feel  better  already,  dad?"  asked 
Tom  that  noon  as  they  stopped  under  a  leaning, 
overhanging  tree  for  lunch  on  the  shore  of  the 
lake.  "I'll  leave  it  to  Ned  if  you  don't  look  more 
contented  and  less  worried." 

"I  believe  he  does,"  agreed  the  other  lad. 

"Well,  I  must  say  I  certainly  have  enjoyed  the 
outing  so  far,"  admitted  the  inventor  with  a  smile. 
"And  I  haven't  been  bothering  about  my  gyro- 
scope. I  think  I'll  take  another  sandwich,  Tom, 
and  a  few  more  olives." 

"That's  the  way  to  talk !"  cried  the  son.  "Your 
appetite  is  improving,  too.  If  Mrs.  Baggert  could 
see  you  she'd  say  so." 

"Oh,  yes,  Mrs.  Baggert.  I  do  hope  she  and 
Garret  will  look  after  the  house  and  shops  well,"' 
said  Mr.  Swift,  and  the  old,  worried  look  came 
like  a  shadow  over  his  face. 

"Now  don't  be  thinking  of  that,  dad,"  advised 
78 


MR.  SWIFT  IS  ALARMED  79 

Tom.  "Of  course  everything  will  be  all  right. 
Do  you  think  some  of  those  model  thieves  will 
return  and  try  to  get  some  of  your  other  inven- 
tions?" 

"I  don't  know,  Tom.  Those  men  were  un- 
scrupulous scoundrels,  and  you  can  never  tell 
what  they  might  do  to  revenge  themselves  on  us 
for  defeating  their  plans." 

"Well,  I  guess  Garret  and  Mrs.  Baggert  will 
look  out  for  them,"  remarked  his  son.  "Don't 
worry." 

"Yes,  it's  bad  for  the  digestion,"  added  Ned. 
"If  you  don't  mind,  Tom,  I'll  have  some  more 
coffee  and  another  sandwich  myself." 

"Nothing  the  matter  with  your  appetite, 
either,"  commented  the  young  inventor  as  he 
passed  the  coffee  pot  and  the  plate. 

They  were  soon  on  their  way  again,  the  Arrow 
making  good  time  up  the  lake.  Tom  was  at  the 
engine,  making  several  minor  adjustments  to  it, 
while  Ned  steered.  Mr.  Swift  reclined  on  one  of 
the  cushioned  seats  under  the  shade  of  the  canopy. 
The  young  owner  of  the  Arrow  looked  over  the 
stretch  of  water  from  time  to  time  for  a  possible 
sight  of  Andy  Foger,  but  the  Red  Streak  was  not 
to  be  seen.  The  Lakeview  Hotel  was  reached 
late  that  afternoon  and  the  boat  was  tied  up  to  the 


86       TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

9ock,  while  Tom  and  Ned  accompanied  Mr.  Swift 
to  see  him  comfortably  established  in  his  room. 

"Won't  you  stay  to  supper  with  me?"  invited 
the  inventor  to  his  son  and  the  latter's  chum.  "Or 
do  you  want  to  start  right  in  on  camp  life?" 

"I  guess  we'll  stay  to  supper  and  remain  at  the 
hotel  to-night,"  decided  Tom.  "We  got  here  a 
little  later  than  I  expected,  and  Ned  and  I  hardly 
have  time  to  go  very  far  and  establish  a  temporary 
camp.  We'll  live  a  life  of  luxurious  ease  to-night 
and  begin  to  be  'wanderlusters'  and  get  back  to 
nature  to-morrow." 

In  the  morning  Tom  and  his  chum,  full  of  en- 
thusiasm for  the  pleasures  before  them,  started 
off,  promising  to  come  back  to  the  hotel  in  a  few 
days  to  see  how  Mr.  Swift  felt.  The  trip  had 
already  done  the  man  good  and  his  face  wore  a 
brighter  look. 

Tom  and  Ned,  in  the  speedy  'Arrow,  cruised 
along  the  lake  shores  all  that  morning.  At  noon 
they  went  ashore,  made  a  temporary  camp  and 
arranged  to  spend  the  night  there  in  the  tent. 
After  this  was  erected  they  got  out  their  fishing 
tackle  and  passed  the  afternoon  at  that  sport,  hav- 
ing such  good  luck  that  they  provided  their  own 
supper  without  having  to  depend  on  canned  stuff. 

They  lived  this  life  for  three  days,  making  a 
new  camp  each  night,  being  favored  with  good 


MR.  SWIFT  IS  ALARMED  8t 

weather,  so  that  they  did  not  have  to  sleep  in  the 
boat  to  keep  dry.  On  the  afternoon  of  the  third 
day  Tom,  with  a  critical  glance  at  the  sky,  re- 
marked : 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised  if  it  rained  to-morrow, 
Ned." 

"Me  either.  It  does  look  sort  of  hazy,  and  the 
wind  is  in  a  bad  quarter." 

"Then  what  do  you  say  to  heading  for  the 
hotel?  I  fancy  dad  will  be  glad  to  see  us." 

"That  suits  me.  We  can  start  camp  life  again 
after  the  storm  passes." 

They  started  for  Sandport  that  afternoon. 
When  within  about  two  miles  of  the  hotel  dock 
Tom  saw,  just  ahead  of  them,  a  small  motor-boat 
Ned  observed  it  too  and  called  out : 

"S'pose  that's  Andy  looking  for  another  race?" 

"No,  the  boat's  too  small  for  his.  We'll  put 
over  that  way  and  see  who  it  is." 

The  other  craft  did  not  appear  to  be  moving 
very  rapidly  and  the  Arrow  was  soon  overhauling 
it.  As  the  two  chums  came  nearer  they  could  hear 
the  puffing  of  the  motor.  Tom  listened  with  criti- 
cal ears. 

"That  machine  isn't  working  right,"  he  re- 
ftiarked  to  his  chum. 

At  that  moment  there  sounded  a  loud  explosion 


82        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

from  the  other  boat  and  at  the  same  time  there 
came  over  the  water  a  shrill  cry  of  alarm. 

"That's  a  girl  in  that  boat!"  exclaimed  Ned. 
"Maybe  she's  hurt." 

"No,  the  motor  only  back-fired,"  observed  Tom. 
"But  we'll  go  over  and  see  if  we  can  help  her. 
Perhaps  she  doesn't  understand  it.  Girls  don't 
know  much  about  machinery." 

A  little  later  the  Arrow  shot  up  alongside  the 
other  craft,  which  had  come  to  a  stop.  The  two 
lads  could  see  a  girl  bending  over  the.  motor,  twirl- 
ing the  fly-wheel  and  trying  to  get  it  started. 

"Can  I  help  you  ?"  asked  Tom,  shutting  off  the 
power  from  his  craft. 

The  young  lady  glanced  up.  Her  face  was  red 
and  she  seemed  ill  at  ease.  At  the  sight  of  the 
young  inventor  she  uttered  an  exclamation  of 
relief. 

"Why,  Mr.  Swift!"  she  cried.  "Oh,  I'm  in 
such  trouble.  I  can't  make  the  machine  work, 
and  I'm  afraid  it's  broken ;  it  exploded." 

"Miss  Nestor!"  blurted  out  Tom,  more  sur- 
prised evidently  to  see  his  acquaintance  of  the 
runaway  again  than  she  was  at  beholding  him. 
"I  didn't  know  you  ran  a  motor-boat,"  he  added. 

"I  don't,"  said  she  simply  and  helplessly. 
That's  the  trouble,  it  won't  run." 


MR.  SWIFT  IS  ALARMED  83 

"How  comes  it  that  you  are  up  here  ?"  went  on 
Tom. 

"I  am  stopping  with  friends,  who  have  a  cot- 
tage near  the  Lakeview  Hotel.  They  have  2, 
motor-boat  and  I  got  Dick  Blythe — he's  the  owner 
of  this — to  show  me  how  to  run  it.  I  thought  I 
knew,  and  I  started  out  a  little  while  ago.  At 
first  it  went  beautifully,  but  a  few  minutes  ago  it 
blew  up,  or — or  something  dreadful  happened." 

"Nothing  very  dreadful,  I  guess,"  Tom  assured 
her.  "I  think  I  can  fix  it"  He  got  into  the  other 
boat  and  soon  saw  what  the  trouble  was.  The  car* 
buretor  had  gotten  out  of  adjustment  and  the 
gasoline  was  not  feeding  properly.  The  young 
inventor  soon  had  it  in  order,  and,  testing  the  mo- 
tor,  found  that  it  worked  perfectly. 

"Oh,  I  can't  thank  you  enough,"  cried  Miss 
Nestor  with  a  flash  from  her  brown  eyes  that 
made  Tom's  heart  beat  double  time.  "I  was 
afraid  I  had  damaged  the  boat,  and  I  knew  Dick, 
who  is  a  sort  of  second  cousin  of  mine,  would 
never  forgive  me." 

"There's  no  harm  done,"  Tom  assured  her. 
"But  you  had  better  keep  near  us  on  your  way 
back ;  that  is,  if  you  are  going  back." 

"Oh,  indeed  I  am.  I  was  frightened  when  I 
found  I'd  come  so  far  away  from  shore,  and  then, 
when  that  explosion  took  place — well,  you  can 


84        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

imagine  how  I  felt.  Indeed  I  will  keep  near  you. 
Are  you  stopping  near  here?  If  you  are,  I  wish 
you'd  come  and  see  me,  you  and  Mr.  Newton," 
she  added,  for  Tom  had  introduced  his  chum. 

'I'll  be  very  glad  to,"  answered  our  hero,  and 
he  told  how  he  happened  to  be  in  the  neighbor- 
hood. "I'll  give  you  a  few  lessons  in  managing  a 
boat,  if  you  like/'  he  added. 

"Oh,  will  you?  That  will  be  lovely!  I  won't 
tell  Dick  about  it,  and  I'll  surprise  him  some  day 
by  showing  him  how  well  I  can  run  his  boat." 

"Good  idea,"  commented  Tom. 

He  started  the  motor  for  Miss  Nestor,  having 
stopped  it  after  his  first  test,  and  then,  with  the 
Dot,  which  was  the  name  of  the  small  boat  Miss 
Nestor  was  in,  following  the  larger  Arrow,  the 
run  back  to  the  hotel  was  made.  The  young  lady 
turned  off  near  the  Lakeview  dock  to  go  to  the 
cottage  where  she  was  stopping  and  the  lads  tied 
Up  at  the  hotel  boathouse. 

"Yes,  we  are  in  for  a  storm,"  remarked  Tom  as 
he  and  his  chum  walked  up  toward  the  hotel.  "I 
wonder  how  dad  is?  I  hope  the  outing  is  doing 
him  good." 

"There  he  comes  now,"  observed  Ned,  and, 
looking  up,  Tom  saw  his  father  approaching. 
iThe  young  inventor  was  at  once  struck  by  the 
expression  on  his  parent's  face.  Mr.  Swift  looked 


MR.  SWIFT  IS  ALARMED  85 

worried  and  Tom  anxiously  hastened  forward  to 
meet  him. 

"What's  the  matter,  dad?"  he  asked  as  cheer- 
fully as  he  could.  "Have  you  been  figuring  over 
that  gyroscope  problem  again,  against  my  express 
orders  ?"  and  he  laughed  a  little. 

"No,  Tom,  it's  not  the  gyroscope  that's  worry- 
ing me." 

"What  is  it  then?" 

"Those  scoundrels  are  around  again,  Tom!" 
and  Mr.  Swift  looked  apprehensively  about  him. 

"You  mean  the  men  who  stole  the  turbine 
model?" 

"Yes.  I  was  walking  in  the  woods  near  the 
hotel  yesterday  and  I  saw  Anson  Morse.  He  did 
not  see  me,  for  I  turned  aside  as  quickly  as  I  had 
a  glimpse  of  him.  He  was  talking  to  another 
man." 

"What  sort  of  a  man?" 

"Well,  an  ordinary  enough  individual,  but  I 
noticed  that  he  had  tattooed  on  the  little  finger  of 
his  left  hand  a  blue  ring." 

"Happy  Harry,  the  tramp!"  exclaimed  Tom. 
"What  can  he  and  Morse  be  doing  here  ?" 

"I  don't  know,  Tom,  but  I'm  worried.  I  wish 
I  was  back  home.  I'm  afraid  something  may  hap- 
pen to  some  of  my  inventions.  I  want  to  go  back 
to  Shopton,  Tom." 


86        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Nonsense,  dad.  Don't  worry  just  because  you 
saw  some  of  your  former  enemies.  Everything 
is  all  right  at  home.  Mrs.  Baggert  and  Garret 
Jackson  will  look  after  things.  But,  if  you  like,  I 
can  find  out  for  you  how  matters  are." 

"How,  Tom?" 

"By  taking  a  run  down  there  in  my  motor-boat. 
I  can  do  it  to-morrow  and  get  back  by  night,  if  I 
start  early.  Then  you  will  not  worry." 

"All  right,  Tom ;  I  wish  you  would.  Come  up* 
to  my  room  and  we  will  talk  it  over.  I'd  rather 
have  you  go  than  telephone,  as  I  don't  like  to  talk 
of  my  business  over  the  wire  if  I  can  avoid  it." 


CHAPTER  X 

A  CRY  FOR  HELP 

"Now,  dad,  tell  me  all  about  it,"  requested  Tom 
when  he  and  Ned  were  in  Mr.  Swift's  apartment 
at  the  hotel,  safe  from  the  rain  that  was  falling. 
"How  did  you  happen  to  see  Anson  Morse  and 
Happy  Harry?"  My  old  readers  will  doubtless 
remember  that  the  latter  was  the  disguised  tramp 
who  was  so  vindictive  toward  Tom,  while  Morse 
was  the  man  who  endeavored  to  sneak  in  Mr. 
Swift's  shop  and  steal  a  valuable  invention. 

"Well,  Tom,"  proceeded  the  inventor,  "there 
isn't  much  to  tell.  I  was  out  walking  in  the 
woods  yesterday,  and  when  I  was  behind  a  clump 
of  bushes  I  heard  voices.  I  looked  out  and  there 
I  saw  the  two  men. 

"At  first  I  thought  they  were  trailing  me,  but 
I  saw  that  they  had  not  seen  me,  and  I  didn't  see 
how  they  could  know  I  was  in  the  neighborhood. 
So  I  quietly  made  my  way  back  to  the  hotel." 

"Could  you  hear  what  they  were  saying?" 


88        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Not  all,  but  they  seemed  angry  over  something. 
The  man  with  the  blue  ring  on  his  finger  asked 
the  other  man  whether  Murdock  had  been  heard 
from." 

"Who  is  Murdock?" 

"I  don't  know,  unless  he  is  another  member  of 
the  gang  or  unless  that  is  an  assumed  name." 

"It  may  be  that.    What  else  did  you  hear?" 

"The  man  we  know  as  Morse  replied  that  he 
hadn't  heard  from  him,  but  that  he  suspected 
Murdock  was  playing  a  double  game.  Then 
the  tramp — Happy  Harry — asked  this  question: 
'Have  you  any  clew  to  the  sparkler  ?'  And  Morse 
answered:  'No,  but  I  think  Murdock  has  hid  it 
somewhere  and  is  trying  to  get  away  with  it 
without  giving  us  our  share/  Then  the  two  men 
walked  away,  and  I  came  back  to  the  hotel,"  fin- 
ished Mr.  Swift. 

"Sparkler,"  murmured  Tom.  "I  wonder  what 
that  can  be?" 

"That's  a  slang  word  for  diamonds,"  suggested 
Ned. 

"So  it  is.  In  that  case,  dad,  I  think  we  have 
nothing  to  worry  about.  Those  fellows  must  be 
going  to  commit  a  diamond  robbery  or  perhaps 
it  has  already  taken  place." 

The  inventor  seemed  relieved  at  this  theory  of 
his  son.  His  face  brightened  and  he  said: 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP  89 

"If  they  are  going  to  commit  a  robbery,  Tom, 
we  ought  to  notify  the  police." 

"But  if  they  said  that  'Murdock/  whoever  he 
is,  had  the  sparkler  and  was  trying  to  get  away 
with  it  without  giving  them  their  share,  wouldn't 
that  indicate  that  the  robbery  had  aleady  taken 
place?"  asked  Ned. 

"That's  so,"  agreed  Tom.  "But  it  won't  do 
any  harm  to  tell  the  hotel  detective  that  sus- 
picious characters  are  around,  no  matter  if  the 
robbery  has  been  committed.  Then  he  can  be  on 
the  lookout.  But  I  don't  think  we  have  anything 
to  worry  about,  dad.  Still,  if  you  like,  I'll  take 
a  run  down  to  the  house  to  see  that  everything  is 
all  right,  though  I'm  sure  it  will  be  found  that  we 
have  nothing  to  be  alarmed  over." 

"Well,  I  will  be  more  relieved  if  you  do,"  said 
the  inventor.  "However,  suppose  we  have  a  good 
supper  now  and  you  boys  can  stay  at  the  hotel 
to-night.  Then  you  and  Ned  can  start  off  early 
in  the  morning." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Tom,  but  there  was  a 
thoughtful  look  on  his  face  and  he  appeared  to 
be  planning  something  that  needed  careful  atten- 
tion to  details. 

After  supper  that  night  Tom  took  his  chum  to 
one  side  and  asked : 


90        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Would  you  mind  very  much  if  you  <$idn't 
make  the  trip  to  Shopton  with  me?" 

"No,  Tom,  of  course  not,  if  it  will  help  you 
any.  Do  you  want  me  to  stay  here?" 

"I  think  it  will  be  a  good  plan.  I  don't  like 
to  leave  dad  alone  if  those  scoundrels  are  around 
Of  course  he's  able  to  look  after  himself,  but 
sometimes  he  gets  absent  minded  from  thinking 
too  much  about  his  inventions." 

"Of  course  I'll  stay  here  at  the  hotel.  This  is 
just  as  good  a  vacation  as  I  could  wish." 

"Oh,  I  don't  mean  all  the  while.  Just  a  day  or 
so — until  I  come  back.  I  may  be  here  again  by 
to-morrow  night  and  find  that  my  father  is  need- 
lessly alarmed.  Then  something  may  have  hap- 
pened at  home  and  I  would  be  delayed.  If  I 
should  be,  I'd  feel  better  to  know  that  you  were 
here." 

"Then  I'll  stay,  and  if  I  see  any  of  those 
men " 

"You'd  better  steer  clear  of  them,"  advised 
Tom  quickly.  "They  are  dangerous  customers." 

"All  right.  Then  I'll  go  over  and  give  Miss 
Nestor  lessons  on  how  to  run  a  motor-boat,"  was 
the  smiling  response.  "I  fancy,  with  what  she 
and  I  know,  we  can  make  out  pretty  well." 

"Hold  on  there !"  cried  Tom  gaily.  "No  tres- 
passing, you  know," 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP  gi 

"Oh,  I'll  just  say  I'm  your  agent,"  promised 
Ned  with  a  grin.  "You  can't  object  to  that." 

"No,  I  s'pose  not.  Well,  do  the  best  you  can. 
She  is  certainly  a  nice  girl." 

"Yes,  but  you  do  seem  to  turn  up  at  most  op- 
portune times.  Luck  is  certainly  with  you  where 
she  is  concerned.  First  you  save  her  in  a  run- 
away  " 

"After  I  start  the  runaway,"  interrupted  Tom. 

"Then  you  take  her  for  a  ride  in  your  motor- 
boat,  and,  lastly,  you  come  to  her  relief  when  she 
is  stalled  in  the  middle  of  the  lake.  Oh,  you  cer- 
tainly are  a  lucky  dog !" 

"Never  mind,  I'm  giving  you  a  show.  Now 
let's  get  to  bed  early,  as  I  want  to  get  a  good 
start." 

Tom  awoke  to  find  a  nasty,  drizzling  rainstorm 
in  progress,  and  the  lake  was  almost  hidden  from 
view  by  a  swirling  fog.  Still  he  was  not  to  be 
daunted  from  his  trip  to  Shopton  by  the  weather, 
and,  after  a  substantial  breakfast,  he  bade  his 
father  and  Ned  good-by  and  started  off  in  the 
Arrow. 

The  canopy  he  had  provided  was  an  efficient 
protection  against  the  rain,  a  celluloid  window  in 
the  forward  hanging  curtains  affording  him  a 
view  so  that  he  could  steer. 

Through  the  mist  puffed  the  boat,  the  motor 


92        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

being  throttled  down  to  medium  speed,  for  Tom 
was  not  as  familiar  with  the  lake  as  he  would 
like  to  have  been,  and  he  did  not  want  to  run 
aground  or  into  another  craft. 

He  was  thinking  over  what  his  father  had  told 
him  about  the  presence  of  the  men  and  vainly 
wondering  what  might  be  their  reference  to  the 
"sparkler."  His  thoughts  also  dwelt  on  the  curi- 
ous removal  of  the  bracing  block  from  under  the 
gasoline  tank  of  his  boat. 

"I  shouldn't  be  surprised  but  what  Andy  Foger 
did  that,"  he  mused.  "Some  day  he  and  I  will 
have  a  grand  fight,  and  then  maybe  he'll  let  me 
alone.  Well,  I've  got  other  things  to  think  about 
now.  The  hotel  detective  can  keep  a  lookout  for 
the  men  around  the  hotel,  after  the  warning  I 
gave  him,  and  I'll  see  that  all  is  right  at  home." 

The  fog  lifted  somewhat  and  Tom  put  on  more 
speed.  As  he  was  steering  the  boat  along  near 
shore  he  heard,  off  to  the  woods  at  his  right,  the 
report  of  a  gun.  It  came  so  suddenly  that  he 
jumped  involuntarily.  A  moment  later  there 
sounded,  plainly  through  the  damp  air,  a  cry  for 
help. 

"Some  one's  hurt — shot!"  cried  the  youth 
aloud. 

He  turned  the  boat  in  toward  the  bank.    As  he 


A  CRY  FOR  HELP  93 

shut  off  the  power  from  the  motor  he  heard  the 
cry  again : 

"Help!  help!  help!" 

"I  must  go  ashore !"  he  exclaimed.  "Probably 
some  one  is  badly  wounded  by  a  gun." 

He  paused  for  a  moment  as  the  fear  came  to 
him  that  it  might  be  some  of  the  patent  thieves. 
Then,  dismissing  that  idea  as  the  Arrow's  prow 
touched  the  gravel,  Tom  sprang  out,  drew  the 
boat  up  a  little  way,  fastened  the  rope  to  a  tree 
and  hurried  off  into  the  dripping  woods  in  the 
direction  of  the  voice  that  was  calling  for  aid. 


CHAPTER  XI 

A  QUICK  RUN 

"WHERE  are  you?"  cried  Tom,  "Are  you 
Eurt  ?  Where  are  you  ?" 

Uttering  these  words  after  he  had  hurried  into 
the  woods  a  short  distance,  the  young  inventor 
paused  for  an  answer.  At  first  he  could  hear 
nothing  but  the  drip  of  water  from  the  branches 
of  the  trees;  then,  as  he  listened  intently,  he  be- 
came aware  of  a  groan  not  far  away. 

"Where  are  you?"  cried  the  lad  again.  "I've 
come  to  help  you.  Where  are  you  ?" 

He  had  lost  what  little  fear  he  had  had  at  first, 
that  it  might  be  one  of  the  unscrupulous  gang, 
and  came  to  the  conclusion  that  he  might  safely 
offer  to  help. 

Once  more  the  groan  sounded  and  it  was  fol- 
lowed by  a  faint  voice  speaking: 

"Here  I  am,  under  the  big  oak  tree.  Oh,  who- 
ever you  are,  help  me  quickly!  I'm  bleeding  to 
death!" 


A  QUICK  RUN  95 

With  the  sound  of  the  voice  to  guide  him,  Tom 
swung  around.  The  appeal  had  come  from  the 
left  and,  looking  in  that  direction,  he  saw,  through 
the  mist,  a  large  oak  tree.  Leaping  over  the 
underbrush  toward  it  he  caught  sight  of  the 
wounded  man  at  its  foot.  Beside  him  lay  a  gun 
and  there  was  a  wound  in  the  man's  right  arm. 

"Who  shot  you?"  cried  Tom,  hurrying  to  the 
side  of  the  man.  "Was  it  some  of  those  patent 
thieves  ?"  Then,  realizing  that  a  stranger  would 
know  nothing  of  the  men  who  had  stolen  the 
model,  Tom  prepared  to  change  the  form  of  his 
question.  But,  before  he  had  an  opportunity  to 
do  this,  the  man,  whose  eyes  were  closed,  opened 
them,  and,  as  he  got  a  better  sight  of  his  face, 
Tom  uttered  a  cry. 

"Why,  it's  Mr.  Duncan!"  exclaimed  the  lad. 
He  had  recognized  the  rich  hunter,  whom  he  had 
first  met  in  the  woods  that  spring  shortly  after 
Happy  Harry,  the  tramp,  had  disabled  Tom's 
motor-cycle.  "Mr.  Duncan,"  the  young  inventor 
repeated,  "how  did  you  get  shot  ?" 

"Is  that  you,  Tom  Swift?"  asked  the  gunner. 
"Help  me,  please.  I  must  stop  this  bleeding  in 
my  arm.  I'll  tell  you  about  it  afterward.  Wind 
something  around  it  tight — your  handkerchief 
Will  do." 

The  man  sighed  weakly  and  his  eyes  closed 


96        TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

again.  The  lad  saw  the  blood  spurting  from  an 
ugly  wound. 

"I  must  make  a  tourniquet,"  the  youth  ex- 
claimed. 'That  will  check  the  bleeding  until  I 
can  get  him  to  a  doctor." 

With  Tom  to  think  was  to  act  He  took  out  his 
knife  and  cut  off  Mr.  Duncan's  sleeves  below  the 
injury,  slashing  through  coat  and  shirts.  Then 
he  saw  that  part  of  a  charge  of  shot  had  torn 
away  some  of  the  large  muscular  development  of 
the  upper  arm.  The  hunter  seemed  to  have 
fainted  and  the  youth  worked  quickly.  Tying  his 
handkerchief  above  the  wound  and  inserting  a 
small  stone  under  the  clotr^,  so  that  the  pebble 
would  press  on  the  main  artery,  Tom  put  a  stick 
in  the  handkerchief  and  began  to  twist  it.  This 
had  the  effect  of  tightening  the  linen  around  the 
arm,  and  in  a  few  seconds  the  lad  was  glad  to  see 
that  the  blood  had  stopped  spurting  out  with 
every  beat  of  the  heart.  Giving  the  tourniquet 
a  few  more  twists  to  completely  stop  the  flow  of 
blood,  Tom  fastened  the  stick-lever  in  place  by  a 
bit  of  string. 

"That's—that's  better,"  murmured  Mr.  Dun- 
can. "Now  if  you  can  go  for  a  doctor "  he 

had  to  pause  for  breath. 

"I'll  not  leave  you  here  alone  while  I  go  for  a 
doctor,"  declared  Tom.  "I  have  my  motor-boat 


A  QUICK  RUN  97 

on  the  lake.  Do  you  think  I  could  get  you  down 
to  it  and  take  you  home?" 

"Perhaps — maybe.  I'll  be  stronger  in  a  mo- 
ment, now  that  the  bleeding  has  stopped.  But 
not — not  home — frighten  my  wife.  Take  me  to 
the  sanitarium  if  you  can — sanitarium  up  the  lake, 
a  few  miles  from  here." 

The  unfortunate  man,  who  had  tried  to  sit  up- 
right, had  to  lean  back  against  the  tree  again. 
Tom  understood  what  he  meant  in  spite  of  the 
broken  sentences.  Mr.  Duncan  did  not  want  to 
be  taken  home  in  the  condition  he  was  then  in,  for 
fear  of  alarming  his  wife.  He  wanted  to  be  taken 
to  the  sanitarium,  and  Tom  knew  where  this  was, 
a  well-known  resort  for  the  treatment  of  various 
diseases  and  surgical  cases.  It  was  about  five 
miles  away  and  on  the  opposite  shore  of  the  lake, 

"Water — a  drink!"  murmured  Mr.  Duncan. 

Seeing  that  his  patient  would  be  all  right,  for  a 
few  minutes  at  least,  Tom  hurried  to  his  motor- 
boat,  got  a  cup  and,  filling  it  with  water  from  a 
jug  he  carried,  he  hastened  with  if  to  the  hunter. 
The  fluid  revived  the  man  wonderfully  and  now 
that  the  bleeding  had  almost  completely  stopped, 
Mr.  Duncan  was  much  stronger. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  get  to  the  boat,  if  I  help 
you?"  asked  Tom. 

"Yes,  I  believe  so.    To  think  of  meeting  you 


98        TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

again,  and  under  such  circumstances !  It  is  provi- 
dential." 

"Did  some  one  shoot  you  ?"  inquired  Tom,  who 
could  not  get  out  of  his  head  the  notion  of  the 
men  who  had  once  assaulted  him. 

"No,  I  shot  myself,"  answered  Mr.  Duncan  as 
he  got  to  his  feet  with  Tom's  help.  "I  was  out 
with  my  gun,  practicing  just  as  I  was  that  day 
when  I  met  you  in  the  woods.  I  stooped  down  to 
crawl  under  a  bush  and  the  weapon  went  off,  the 
muzzle  being  close  against  my  arm.  I  can't  un- 
derstand how  it  happened.  I  fell  down  and  called 
for  help.  Then  I  guess  I  must  have  fainted,  but 
I  came  to  when  I  heard  you  talking  to  me.  I 
shouldn't  have  come  out  to-day  as  it  is  so  wet,  but 
I  had  some  new  shot  shells  I  wished  to  try  in 
order  to  test  them  before  the  hunting  season.  But 
if  I  can  get  to  the  sanitarium,  I  will  be  well  taken 
care  of.  I  know  one  of  the  doctors  there." 

With  Tom  leading  him  and  acting  as  a  sort  of 
support,  the  journey  to  the  motor-boat  was  slowly 
made.  Making  as  comfortable  a  bed  as  possible 
out  of  the  seat  cushions,  Tom  assisted  Mr.  Dun- 
can to  it,  and  then  starting  the  engine  he  sent  his 
boat  out  from  shore  at  half  speed,  as  the  fog  was 
still  thick  and  he  did  not  want  to  run  upon  a  rock. 

"Do  you  know  where  the  sanitarium  is  ?"  asked 
the  wounded  hunter. 


A  QUICL  RUN  99 

"About,"  answered  Tom  a  little  doubtfully, 
"but  I'm  afraid  it's  going  to  be  hard  to  locate  it 
in  this  fog." 

"There's  a  compass  in  my  coat  pocket,"  said 
Mr.  Duncan.  "Take  it  out  and  I'll  tell  you  how  to 
steer.  You  ought  to  carry  a  compass  if  you're 
going  to  be  a  sailor." 

Tom  was  beginning  to  think  so  himself  and 
wondered  that  he  had  not  thought  of  it  before. 
He  found  the  one  the  hunter  had,  and  placing  it 
on  the  seat  near  him,  he  carefully  listened  to  the 
wounded  man's  directions.  Tom  easily  compre- 
hended and  soon  had  the  boat  headed  in  the 
proper  direction.  After  that  it  was  comparatively 
easy  to  keep  on  the  right  course,  even  in  the  fog. 

But  there  was  another  danger,  however,  and 
this  was  that  he  might  run  into  another  boat. 
True,  there  were  not  many  on  Lake  Carlopa,  but 
there  were  some,  and  one  of  the  few  motor-boats 
might  be  out  in  spite  of  the  bad  weather. 

"Guess  I'll  not  run  at  full  speed,"  decided  Tom. 
"I  wouldn't  like  to  crash  into  the  Red  Streak* 
We'd  both  sink." 

So  he  did  not  run  his  motor  at  the  limit  and! 
sat  at  the  steering-wheel,  peering  ahead  into  the 
fog  for  the  first  sight  of  another  craft 

He  turned  to  look  at  Mr.  Duncan  and  was 
alarmed  at  the  pallor  of  his  face.  The  man's  eyes 


100      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

were  closed  and  he  was  breathing  in  a  peculiar 
manner. 

"Mr.  Duncan,"  cried  Tom,  "are  you  worse?" 

There  was  no  answer.  Leaving  the  helm  for  a 
moment,  Tom  bent  over  the  injured  hunter.  A 
glance  showed  him  what  had  happened.  The  tour- 
niquet had  slipped  and  the  wound  was  bleeding 
again.  Tom  quickly  shut  off  the  motor,  so  that 
he  might  give  his  whole  attention  to  the  work  of 
tightening  the  handkerchief.  But  something 
seemed  to  be  wrong.  No  matter  how  tightly  he 
twisted  the  stick  the  blood  did  not  stop  flowing. 
The  lad  was  frightened.  In  a  short  time  the  man 
would  bleed  to  death. 

"I've  got  to  get  him  to  the  sanitarium  in  record 
time !"  exclaimed  Tom.  "Fog  or  no  xog,  I've  got 
to  run  at  full  speed !  I've  got  to  chance  it !" 

Making  the  bandage  as  tight  as  he  could  and 
fastening  it  in  place,  the  young  inventor  sprang  to 
the  motor  and  set  it  in  motion.  Then  he  went  to 
the  wheel.  In  a  few  minutes  the  Arrow  was 
speeding  through  the  water  as  it  had  never  done 
before,  except  when  it  had  raced  the  Red  Streak. 
"If  I  hit  anything — good-by!"  thought  Tom 
grimly.  His  hands  were  tense  on  the  rim  of 
the  steering-wheel  and  he  was  ready  in  an  instant 
to  reverse  the  motor  as  he  sat  there  straining  his 
eyes  to  see  through  the  curtain  of  mist  that  hung 


A  QUICK  RUN  ioi 

over  the  lake.  Now  and  then  he  glanced  at  the 
compass,  to  keep  on  the  right  course,  and  from 
time  to  time  he  looked  at  Mr.  Duncan.  The 
hunter  was  still  unconscious. 

How  Tom  accomplished  that  trip  he  hardly  re- 
membered afterward.  Through  the  fog  he  shot, 
expecting  any  moment  to  crash  into  some  other 
boat.  He  did  pass  a  rowing  craft  in  which  sat  a 
lone  fisherman.  The  lad  was  upon  him  in  an  in- 
stant, but  a  turn  of  the  wheel  sent  the  Arrow 
safely  past,  and  the  startled  fisherman,  whose  frail 
craft  was  set  to  rocking  violently  by  the  swell 
from  the  motor-boat,  sent  an  objecting  cry 
through  the  fog  after  Tom.  But  the  youth  did 
not  reply.  On  and  on  he  raced,  getting  the  last 
atom  of  power  from  his  motor. 

He  feared  Mr.  Duncan  would  be  dead  when  he 
arrived,  but  when  he  saw  the  dock  of  the  sani- 
tarium looming  up  out  of  the  mist  and  shut  off 
the  power  to  slowly  run  up  to  it,  he  placed  his 
hand  on  the  wounded  man's  heart  and  found  it 
itill  beating. 

"He's  alive,  anyhow,"  thought  the  youth,  and 
then  his  craft  bumped  up  against  the  bulkhead 
and  a  man  in  the  boathouse  on  the  dock  was  sent 
on  the  run  for  a  physician. 

Mr.  Duncan  was  quickly  taken  up  to  the  sani- 
tarium on  a  stretcher  and  Tom  followed. 


102      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"You  must  have  made  a  record  run/*  observed 
one  of  the  physicians  a  little  while  afterward, 
when  Tom  was  telling  of  his  trip  while  waiting 
in  the  office  to  hear  the  report  on  the  hunter's  con- 
dition. 

"I  guess  I  did,"  muttered  the  young  inventor^ 
"only  I  didn't  think  so  at  the  time.  It  seemed  as 
if  we  were  only  crawling  along." 


CHAPTER  XII 

SUSPICIOUS  CHARACTERS 

UNDER  the  skill  of  the  physicians  at  the  lake 
sanitarium  Mr.  Duncan's  wound  was  quickly  at- 
tended to  and  the  bleeding,  which  Tom  had  partly 
checked,  was  completely  stopped.  Some  medi- 
ycines  having  been  administered,  the  hunter  re- 
gained a  little  of  his  strength,  and,  about  an  hour 
after  he  had  been  brought  to  the  resort,  he  was 
able  to  see  Tom,  who,  at  his  request,  was  admitted 
to  his  room.  The  young  inventor  found  Mr. 
Duncan  propped  up  in  bed,  with  his  injured  arm 
bandaged. 

*Is  the  injury  a  bad  one?"  asked  Tom,  enter- 
ing softly. 

"Not  as  bad  as  I  feared,"  replied  the  hunter, 
•while  a  trained  nurse  placed  a  chair  for  the  lad 
at  the  bedside.  "If  it  had  not  been  for  you, 
though,  I'm  afraid  to  think  of  what  might  have 
happened." 

"I  am  glad  I  chanced  to  be  going  past  when 
you  called,"  replied  the  lad. 

so* 


104      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Well,  you  can  imagine  how  thankful  /  am/' 
resumed  Mr.  Duncan.  "I'll  thank  you  more  prop- 
erly at  another  time.  I  hope  I  didn't  delay  you 
on  your  trip." 

"It's  not  of  much  consequence,"  responded  the 
youth.  "I  was  only  going  to  see  that  everything 
was  all  right  at  our  house,"  and  he  explained 
about  his  father  being  at  the  hotel  and  mentioned 
his  worriment.  "I  will  go  on  new  unless  I  can 
do  something  more  for  you,"  resumed  Tom.  "I 
will  probably  stay  at  our  house  all  night  to-night 
instead  of  trying  to  get  back  to  Sandport." 

"I'd  like  to  send  word  to  my  wife  about  what 
has  happened,"  said  the  hunter.  "If  it  vould  not 
be  too  much  out  of  your  way,  I'd  appreciate  it  if 
you  could  stop  at  my  home  in  Waterford  and  tell 
her,  so  she  will  not  be  alarmed  at  my  absence." 

"I'll  do  it,"  replied  our  hero.  "There  is  no 
special  need  of  my  hurrying.  I  have  brought  your 
gun  and  compass  up  from  the  boat.  They  are 
down  in  the  office." 

"Will  you  do  me  a  favor?"  asked  Mr.  Duncan 
quickly. 

"Of  course." 

"Then  please  accept  that  gun  and  compass  with 
my  compliments.  They  are  both  of  excellent 
make,  and  I  don't  think  I  shall  use  that  gun  this 
season.  My  wife  would  be  superstitious  about 


SUSPICIOUS  CHARACTERS  105 

it.  As  for  the  compass,  you'll  need  one  in  this 
fog,  and  I  can  recommend  mine  as  being  ac- 
curate/'' 

"Oh,  I  couldn't  think  of  taking  them,"  expostu- 
lated Tom,  but  his  eyes  sparkled  in  anticipation, 
for  he  had  been  wishing  for  a  gun  such  as  Mr. 
Duncan  owned.  He  also  needed  a  compass. 

"If  you  don't  take  them  I  shall  feel  very  much 
offended/'  the  hunter  said,  "and  the  nurse  here 
will  tell  you  that  sick  persons  ought  to  be  hu- 
mored. Hadn't  they?"  and  he  appealed  to  the 
pretty  young  woman,  who  was  smiling  at  Tom. 

"That's  perfectly  true,"  she  said,  showing  her 
white,  even  teeth.  "I  think,  Mr.  Swift,  I  shall 
have  to  order  you  to  take  them." 

"All  right,"  agreed  Tom,  "only  it's  too  much 
for  what  I  did." 

"It  isn't  half  enough,"  remarked  Mr.  Duncan 
solemnly.  "Just  explain  matters  to  my  wife,  if 
you  will,  and  tell  her  the  doctor  says  I  can  be  out 
in  about  a  week.  But  I'm  not  going  hunting  or 
practicing  shots  again." 

A  little  later  Tom,  with  the  compass  before  him 
to  guide  him  on  his  course  through  the  fog,  was 
speeding  his  boat  toward  Waterford.  Now  and 
then  he  glanced  at  the  fine  shotgun  which  he  had 
so  unexpectedly  acquired. 

"This  will  come  in  dandy  this  fall!"  he  ex- 


106      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

claimed.  "I'll  go  hunting  quail  and  partridge  as 
well  as  wild  ducks.  This  compass  is  just  what  I 
need,  too." 

Mrs.  Duncan  was  at  first  very  much  alarmed 
when  Tom  started  to  tell  her  of  the  accident,  but 
she  soon  calmed  down  as  the  lad  went  more  into 
details  and  stated  how  comparatively  out  of  dan- 
ger her  husband  now  was.  The  hunter's  wife  in- 
sisted that  Tom  remain  to  dinner,  and  as  he  had 
made  up  his  mind  he  would  have  to  devote  two 
days  instead  of  one  to  the  trip  to  his  house,  he 
consented. 

The  fog  lifted  that  afternoon,  and  Tom,  rejoic* 
ing  in  the  sunlight,  which  drove  away  the  storm 
clouds,  speeded  up  the  Arrow  until  she  was  skim- 
ming over  the  lake  like  a  shaft  from  a  bow. 

"This  is  something  like/'  he  exclaimed.  "I'll 
soon  be  at  home,  find  everything  all  right  and 
telephone  to  dad.  Then  I'll  sleep  in  my  own 
room  and  start  back  in  the  morning." 

When  Tom  was  within  a  few  miles  of  his  own 
boat-house  he  heard  behind  him  the  "put-put"  of 
a  motor  craft.  Turning,  he  saw  the  Red  Streak 
fairly  flying  along  at  some  distance  from  him. 

"Andy  certainly  is  getting  the  speed  out  of  her 
now,"  he  remarked.  "He'd  beat  me  if  we  were 
racing,  but  the  trouble  with  his  boat  and  engine 
is  that  he  can't  always  depend  on  it.  I  guess  he 


SUSPICIOUS  CHARACTERS  107 

doesn't  understand  how  to  run  it.  I  wonder  if 
he'll  offer  to  race  now  ?" 

But  the  red-haired  owner  of  the  auto  boat  evi- 
dently did  not  intend  to  offer  Tom  a  race.  The 
Red  Streak  went  on  down  the  lake,  passing  the 
Arrow  about  half  a  mile  away.  Then  the  young 
inventor  saw  that  Andy  had  two  other  lads  in  the 
boat  with  him. 

"Sam  Snedecker  and  Pete  Bailey,  I  guess,"  he 
murmured.  "Well,  they're  a  trio  pretty  much 
alike.  The  farther  off  they  are  the  better  I  like  it" 

Tom  once  more  gave  his  attention  to  his  own 
boat.  He  was  going  at  a  fair  speed,  but  not  the 
limit,  and  he  counted  on  reaching  home  in  about 
a  half  hour.  Suddenly,  when  he  was  just  con- 
gratulating himself  on  the  smooth-running  quali- 
ties of  his  motor,  which  had  not  missed  an  ex- 
plosion, the  machinery  stopped. 

"Hello !"  exclaimed  the  young  inventor  in  some 
alarm.  "What's  up  now  ?" 

He  quickly  shut  off  the  gasoline  and  went  back 
to  the  motor.  Now  there  are  so  many  things  that 
may  happen  to  a  gasoline  engine  that  it  would  be 
difficult  to  name  them  all  offhand,  and  Tom,  who 
had  not  had  very  much  experience,  was  at  a  loss 
to  find  what  had  stopped  his  machinery.  He  tried 
the  spark  and  found  that  by  touching  the  wire  to 
the  top  of  the  cylinder,  when  the  proper  connect 


108      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

tion  was  made,  that  he  had  a  hot,  "fat  one."  The 
compression  seemed  all  right  and  the  supply  pipe 
from  the  gasoline  tank  was  in  perfect  order.  Still 
the  motor  would  not  go.  No  explosion  resulted 
when  he  turned  the  fly-wheel  over,  not  even  when 
he  primed  the  cylinder  by  putting  a  little  gasoline 
in  through  the  cocks  on  the  cylinder  heads. 

"That's  funny,"  he  remarked  to  himself  as  he 
rested  from  his  labors  and  contemplated  the 
"dead"  motor.  "First  time  it  has  gone  back  on 
me."  The  boat  was  drifting  down  the  lake,  and, 
at  the  sound  of  another  motor  craft  approaching, 
Tom  looked  up.  He  saw  the  Red  Streak,  contain- 
ing Andy  Foger  and  his  cronies.  They  had  ob- 
served the  young  inventor's  plight. 

"Want  a  tow?"  sneered  Andy. 

"What'll  you  take  for  your  second-hand  boat 
that  won't  run?"  asked  Pete  Bailey. 

"Better  get  out  of  the  way  or  you  might  be 
run  down,"  added  Sam  Snedecker. 

Tom  was  too  angry  and  chagrined  to  reply,  and 
the  Red  Streak  swept  on. 

"I'll  make  her  go,  if  it  takes  all  night !"  declared 
Tom  energetically.  Once  more  he  tried  to  start 
the  motor.  It  coughed  and  sighed,  as  if  in  pro- 
test, but  would  not  explode.  Then  Tom  cried: 
"The 'spark  plug!  That's  where  the  trouble  is, 
I'll  wager.  Why  didn't  I  think  of  it  before?" 


SUSPICIOUS  CHARACTERS  109 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  minute  to  unscrew  the 
spark  plugs  from  the  tops  of  the  cylinders.  He 
found  that  both  had  such  accumulations  of  carbon 
on  them  that  no  spark  could  ever  have  reached  the 
mixture  of  gasoline  and  air. 

"I'll  put  new  ones  in,"  he  decided,  for  he  carried 
a  few  spare  plugs  for  emergencies.  Inside  of  five 
minutes,  with  the  new  plugs  in  place,  the  motor 
was  running  better  than  before. 

"Now  for  home!"  cried  Tom,  "and  if  I  meet 
Andy  Foger  I'll  race  him  this  time." 

But  the  Red  Streak  was  not  in  sight,  and,  a 
little  later,  Tom  had  run  the  Arrow  into  the  boat- 
house,  locked  the  door  and  was  on  his  way  up  to 
the  mansion. 

"I  suppose  Mrs.  Baggert  and  Garret  will  be 
surprised  to  see  me,"  he  remarked.  "Maybe 
they'll  think  we  don't  trust  them,  bycomingback  in 
this  fashion  to  see  that  everything  is  safe.  But 
then,  I  suppose,  dad  is  naturally  nervous  about 
some  of  his  valuable  machinery  and  inventions* 
I  think  I'll  find  everything  all  right,  though." 

As  Tom  went  up  the  main  path  and  swung  off 
to  a  side  one,  which  was  a  short  cut  to  the  house, 
he  saw  in  the  dusk,  for  it  was  now  early  evening, 
a  movement  in  the  bushes  that  lined  the  walk. 

"Hello,  Garret!"  exclaimed  the  lad,  taking  it 


HO      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

for  granted  it  was  the  engineer  employed  by  Mr. 
Swift. 

There  was  no  reply,  and  Tom,  with  a  sudden 
suspicion,  sprang  toward  the  bushes.  The  shrub- 
bery was  more  violently  agitated  and,  as  the  lad 
reached  the  screen  of  foliage,  he  saw  a  man  spring 
up  from  the  ground  and  take  to  his  heels. 

"Here!  Who  are  you?  What  do  you  want?" 
yelled  Tom. 

Hardly  had  he  spoken  when  from  behind  a  big 
apple  tree  another  man  sprung.  It  was  light 
enough  so  that  the  lad  could  see  his  face,  and  a 
glimpse  of  it  caused  him  to  cry  out : 

"Happy  Harry,  the  tramp !" 

Before  he  could  call  again  the  two  men  had  dis- 
appeared. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

TOM  IN  DANGER 

"GARRET  !  Garret  Jackson !"  cried  Tom  as  he 
struggled  through  the  hedge  of  bushes  and  ran 
after  the  men.  "Where  are  you,  Garret?  Come 
on  and  help  me  chase  these  men !" 

But  there  came  no  answer  to  Tom's  hail.  He 
could  not  hear  the  sound  of  the  retreating  foot- 
steps of  the  men  now  and  concluded  that  they  had 
made  their  escape.  Still  he  would  not  give  up, 
but  dashed  on,  slipping  and  stumbling,  now  and 
then  colliding  with  a  tree. 

"What  can  they  be  doing  here?"  thought  Tom 
in  great  anxiety.  "Are  they  after  some  more  of 
dad's  inventions  because  they  didn't  get  his  tur- 
bine motor  ?" 

"Hello!  Who's  there?  Who  are  you ?"  called 
a  voice  suddenly. 

"Oh,  Garret!  Where  have  you  been?"  asked 
the  young  inventor,  recognizing  the  tones  of  his 
father's  keeper.  "I've  been  calling  you.  Some  of 
those  scoundrels  are  around  again  1" 

in 


112      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Why  if  it  isn't  Tom !"  ejaculated  the  engineer. 
"However  in  the  world  did  you  get  here?  I 
thought  you  were  at  Sandport." 

"I'll  explain  later,  Garret  Just  now  I  want  to 
catch  those  men,  if  I  can." 

"Which  men?" 

"Happy  Harry  and  another  one,  I  saw  them 
hiding  down  by  the  orchard  path.  Come  on, 
they're  right  ahead  of  us." 

But  though  they  hunted  as  well  as  they  were 
able  to  in  the  fast-gathering  darkness,  there  was 
no  trace  of  the  intruders.  They  had  to  give  up, 
and  Tom,  after  going  to  the  boathouse  to  see  that 
the  Arrow  was  all  right,  returned  to  the  house£ 
where  he  told  the  engineer  and  housekeeper  what 
had  brought  him  back  and  how  he  had  surprised 
the  two  men. 

"Is  everything  all  right,  Garret  ?"  he  concluded. 
"Dad  is  nervous  and  frightened.  I  must  tele- 
phone him  at  the  hotel  to-night  and  let  him  know, 
for  I  promised  to  come  back.  I  can't,  though, 
until  to-morrow." 

"Everything  is  all  right  as  far  as  I  know," 
answered  Jackson.  "I've  kept  a  careful  watch 
and  the  burglar  alarm  has  been  in  working  order. 
Mrs.  Baggert  and  I  haven't  been  disturbed  a 
single  night  since  you  went  away.  It's  curious 


TOM  IN  DANGER  1 1 3 

that  the  men  should  be  here  the  very  night  you 
come  back.  Maybe  they  followed  you." 

"I  hardly  think  so,  for  they  didn't  know  I  was 
coming." 

"You  can't  tell  what  those  fellows  know,"  com- 
mented the  engineer.  "But,  anyhow,  I  don't 
s'pose  they  could  have  gotten  here  from  Sandport 
as  soon  as  you  did." 

"Oh,  yes  they  could,  in  their  automobile,"  de- 
clared Tom.  "But  I  don't  believe  they  knew  I  was 
coming.  They  knew  we  were  away,  however, 
and  thought  it  would  be  a  good  time  to  steal 
something,  I  guess.  Are  you  sure  nothing  has 
been  taken?" 

"Perfectly  sure,  but  you  and  I  will  take  a  look 
around  the  shop." 

They  made  a  hasty  examination,  but  found 
nothing  disturbed  and  no  signs  that  any  one  had 
tried  to  break  in. 

"I  think  I'll  telephone  dad  that  everything  is 
all  right,"  decided  Tom.  "It  is,  as  far  as  his  in- 
ventions are  concerned,  and  if  I  tell  about  seeing 
the  men  it  will  only  worry  him.  I  can  explain 
that  part  better  when  I  see  him.  But  when  I  go 
back,  Garret,  you  will  have  to  be  on  your  guard, 
since  those  men  are  in  the  neighborhood." 

"I  will,  Tom.    Don't  worry." 

Mr.  Swift  was  soon  informed  by  his  son  over 


114      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

the  telephone  that  nothing  in  the  shops  had  been 
disturbed,  and  the  inventor  received  the  news  with 
evident  satisfaction.  He  requested  Tom  to  come 
back  to  the  hotel  in  the  morning,  in  order  that  the 
three  of  them  might  go  for  a  ride  about  the  lake 
in  the  afternoon,  and  Tom  decided  to  make  an 
early  start. 

The  night  passed  without  incident,  though 
Tom,  who  kept  the  gun  Mr.  Duncan  had  given 
him  in  readiness  for  use,  got  up  several  times, 
thinking  he  heard  suspicious  noises.  After  an 
early  breakfast,  and  having  once  more  cautioned 
the  engineer  and  housekeeper  to  be  on  their  guard, 
Tom  started  back  in  the  Arrow. 

As  it  would  not  be  much  out  of  his  way,  the 
young  inventor  decided  to  cut  across  the  lake  and 
stop  at  the  sanitarium,  that  he  might  inquire  about 
Mr.  Duncan.  He  thought  he  could  speed  the 
Arrow  up  sufficiently  to  make  up  for  any  time  he 
might  lose,  and,  with  this  in  mind,  he  headed  out 
toward  the  middle  of  Lake  Carlopa.  The  engine 
was  working  splendidly  with  the  new  spark  plugs, 
and  Tom  was  wondering  if  there  was  any  possible 
method  of  getting  more  revolutions  out  of  the 
motor.  He  had  about  come  to  the  conclusion  that 
a  new  propeller  might  answer  his  purpose  when 
he  heard  the  noise  of  an  approaching  boat.  He 
looked  up  quickly  and  exclaimed : 


TOM  IN  DANGER  1 1 5 

"Andy  Foger  again,  and  Pete  and  Sam  are  with 
him.  It's  a  wonder  he  wouldn't  go  off  on  a  trip 
instead  of  cruising  around  so  near  home.  Guess 
he's  afraid  he'll  get  stuck." 

Idly  Tom  watched  the  Red  Streak.  It  was  cut- 
ting through  the  water  at  a  fast  rate,  throwing  up 
curling  foam  on  either  side  of  the  sharp  bow. 

"He  seems  to  be  heading  this  way,"  mused 
Tom.  "Well,  I'm  not  going  to  race  with  him 
to-day." 

Nearer  and  nearer  came  the  speedy  craft, 
straight  for  the  Arrow.  The  young  inventor 
shifted  his  helm  in  order  to  get  out  of  Andy's 
course,  but  to  his  surprise  he  saw  that  the  red- 
haired  lad  changed  the  direction  of  his  own  boat 

"Guess  he  wants  to  see  how  close  he  cats  come 
to  me,"  thought  our  hero.  "Maybe  he  wants  to 
show  how  fast  he's  going." 

The  Red  Streak  was  now  so  close  that  the  fea- 
tures of  the  occupants  could  easily  be  distin- 
guished. There  were  grins  on  the  faces  of  Andy 
and  his  cronies. 

"Get  out  of  the  way  or  we'll  run  you  down!" 
cried  the  bully.  "We've  got  the  right  of  way." 

"Don't  you  try  anything  like  that!"  shouted* 
Tom  in  some  alarm,  not  that  he  was  afraid  of 
Andy,  but  the  Red  Streak  was  getting  danger- 
ously near,  and  he  knew  Andy  was  not  a  skilful 


Il6      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

helmsman.  The  auto-boat  was  now  headed  di. 
rectly  at  the  Arrow  and  coming  on  speedily. 
Andy  was  bending  over  the  wheel  and  Tom  had 
begun  to  turn  his,  in  order  to  get  well  out  of  the 
way  of  the  insolent,  squint-eyed  lad  and  his 
friends. 

Suddenly  Andy  uttered  a  cry  and  leaped  up. 

"Look  out !  look  out !"  he  yelled.  "My  steering 
gear  has  broken!  I  can't  change  my  course. 
Look  out !" 

The  Red  Streak  was  bearing  right  down  on 
Tom's  boat 

"Shut  off  your  power!  Reverse!"  shouted 
Tom. 

Andy  seemed  confused  and  did  not  know  what 
to  do.  Sam  Snedecker  sprang  to  the  side  of  his 
crony,  but  he  knew  even  less  about  a  motor-boat. 
It  looked  as  if  Tom  would  be  run  down,  and  he 
was  in  great  danger. 

But  the  young  inventor  did  not  lose  his  head. 
He  put  his  wheel  hard  over  and  then,  leaping  to 
his  motor,  sent  it  full  speed  forward.  Not  a  mo- 
ment too  soon  had  he  acted,  for  an  instant  later 
the  other  boat  shot  past  the  stern  of  the  Arrow, 
hitting  it  a  severe  but  glancing  blow.  Tom's  boat 
quivered  from  end  to  end  and  he  quickly  shut  off 
the  power.  By  this  time  Andy  had  succeeded  in 
slowing  down  his  craft.  The  young  inventor 


TOM  IN  DANGER  1 1 7 

hastily  looked  over  the  side  of  the  Arrow.  One 
of  the  rudder  fastenings  had  been  torn  loose. 

"What  do  you  mean  by  running  me  down?" 
shouted  Tom  angrily. 

"I — I  didn't  do  it  on  purpose,"  returned  Andy 
contritely.  "I  was  seeing  how  near  I  could  come 
to  you  when  my  steering  gear  broke.  I  hope  I 
haven't  damaged  you." 

"My  rudder's  broken,"  went  on  Tom,  "and 
I've  got  to  put  back  to  repair  it.  I  ought  to  have 
you  arrested  for  this !" 

"I'll  pay  for  the  damage,"  replied  Andy,  and 
he  was  so  frightened  that  he  was  white,  in  spite  of 
his  tan  and  freckles. 

"That  won't  do  me  any  good  now,"  retorted 
Tom.  "It  will  delay  me  a  couple  of  hours.  If 
you  try  any  tricks  like  that  again,  I'll  complain  to 
the  authorities  and  you  won't  be  allowed  to  run  a 
boat  on  this  lake." 

Andy  knew  that  his  rival  was  in  the  right  and 
did  not  reply.  The  bully  and  his  cronies  busied 
themselves  over  the  broken  steering  gear,  and  the 
young  inventor,  finding  that  he  could  make  a  shift 
to  get  back  to  his  boathouse,  turned  his  craft 
around  and  headed  for  there,  in  order  to  repair 
the  damage. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

THE  ARROW  DISAPPEARS 

PAYING  no  heed  to  the  occupants  of  the  bully's 
boat,  who,  by  reason  of  their  daring,  had  been 
responsible  for  his  accident  that  might  have  re- 
sulted seriously,  Tom  was  soon  at  his  dock.  He 
had  it  conveniently  arranged  for  hoisting  craft  out 
of  the  water  to  repair  them,  and  in  a  few  minutes 
the  stern  of  the  Arrow  was  elevated  so  that  he 
could  get  at  the  rudder. 

"Well,  it's  not  as  bad  as  I  thought,"  he  re- 
marked  when,  with  critical  eye,  he  had  noted  the 
damage  done.  I  can  fix  it  in  about  an  hour  if 
Garret  helps  me." 

Going  up  to  the  house  to  get  some  tools  and  to 
tell  the  engineer  that  he  had  returned,  Tom  looked 
out  over  the  lake  and  saw  Andy's  boat  moving 
slowly  off. 

"They've  got  her  fixed  up  in  some  kind  of 
shape,"  he  murmured.  "It's  a  shame  for  a  chump 
like  Andy  to  have  a  good  boat  like  that  He'll 

118 


THE  ARROW  DISAPPEARS  119 

spoil  it  in  one  season.  He's  getting  altogether  too 
reckless.  First  thing  he  knows,  he  and  I  will  have 
a  clash  and  I'll  pay  back  some  of  the  old  scores/' 

Mr.  Jackson  was  much  surprised  to  see  the 
young  inventor  home  again  so  soon,  as  was  also 
Mrs.  Baggert.  Tom  explained  what  had  hap- 
pened, and  he  and  the  engineer  went  to  work  re^ 
pairing  the  damage  done  by  the  Red  Streak.  As 
the  owner  of  the  Arrow  had  anticipated,  the  work 
did  not  take  long,  and,  shortly  before  dinner  time, 
the  boat  was  ready  to  resume  the  interrupted  trip 
to  Sandport. 

"Better  stay  and  have  lunch,"  urged  Mrs.  Bag- 
gert "You  can  hardly  get  to  the  hotel  by  night, 
anyhow,  and  maybe  it  would  be  better  not  to  start 
until  to-morrow." 

"No,  I  must  get  back  to-night  or  dad  would  be 
Worried,"  declared  Tom.  "I've  been  gone  longer 
now  than  I  calculated  on.  But  I  will  have  dinner 
here,  and,  if  necessary,  I  can  do  the  last  half  of  the 
trip  after  dark.  I  know  the  way  now  and  I  have  a 
compass  and  a  good  searchlight." 

The  Arrow  was  let  down  into  the  water  again 
and  tied  outside  the  boathouse  ready  for  a  quick 
start.  The  dinner  Mrs.  Baggert  provided  was  so 
good  that  Tom  lingered  over  it  longer  than  he 
meant  to,  and  he  asked  for  a  second  apple  dum- 
pling with  hard  sauce  on.  So  it  was  with  a  very 


120      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

comfortable  feeling  indeed  and  with  an  almost 
forgiving  spirit  toward  Andy  Foger  that  our  hero 
started  down  the  path  to  the  lake. 

"Now  for  a  quick  run  to  Sandport,"  he  said 
aloud.  "I  hope  I  shan't  see  any  more  of  those 
men  and  that  dad  hasn't  been  bothered  by  them. 
His  suspicions  about  the  house  weren't  altogether 
unfounded,  for  I  did  see  the  tramp  and  some  one 
else  sneaking  around,  but  I  don't  believe  they'll 
come  back  now." 

Tom  swung  around  the  path  that  led  to  the 
dock.  As  he  came  in  sight  of  the  water,  he  stared 
as  if  he  could  not  believe  what  he  saw,  or,  rather, 
what  he  did  not  see.  For  there  was  no  craft  tied 
to  the  string-piece,  where  he  had  fastened  his 
motor-boat.  He  looked  again,  rubbed  his  eyes  to 
make  sure  and  then  cried  out : 

"The  Arrow  is  gone !" 

There  was  no  doubt  of  it.  The  craft  was  not  at 
the  dock.  Breaking  into  a  run,  Tom  hastened  to 
the  boathouse.  The  Arrow  was  not  in  there,  and 
a  look  across  the  lake  showed  only  a  few  rowboats 
in  sight. 

"That' s  mighty  funny,"  mused  the  youth.  "1 
wonder " 

He  paused  suddenly  in  his  thoughts. 

"Maybe  Garret  took  it  out  to  try  and  see  that 
it  worked  all  right,"  he  said  hopefully.  "He 


THE  ARROW  DISAPPEARS  121 

knows  how  to  run  a  boat.  Maybe  he  wanted  to 
see  how  the  rudder  behaved  and  is  out  in  it  now. 
He  got  through  dinner  before  I  did.  But  I  should 
have  thought  he'd  have  said  something  to  me  if 
iie  was  going  out  in  it." 

This  was  the  one  weak  point  in  Tom's  theory, 
and  he  felt  it  at  once. 

"I'll  see  if  Garret  is  in  his  shop,"  he  went  on  as 
he  turned  back  toward  the  house. 

The  first  person  he  met  as  he  headed  for  the 
group  of  small  structures  where  Mr.  Swift's  in- 
ventive work  was  carried  on  was  Garret  Jackson, 
the  engineer. 

"I — I  thought  you  were  out  in  my  boat !"  stam- 
mered Tom. 

"Your  boat!  Why  would  I  be  out  in  your 
boat  ?"  and  Mr.  Jackson  removed  his  pipe  from  his 
mouth  and  stared  at  the  young  inventor. 

"Because  it's  gone!" 

"Gone!"  repeated  the  engineer,  and  then  Tom 
told  him.  The  two  hurried  down  to  the  dock,  but 
the  addition  of  another  pair  of  eyes  was  of  no 
assistance  in  locating  the  Arrow.  The  trim  little 
motor  craft  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

"I  can't  understand  it,"  said  Tom  helplessly. 
"I  wasn't  gone  more  than  an  hour  at  dinner,  and 
yet " 


122      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"It  doesn't  take  long  to  steal  a  motor-boat* 
commented  the  engineer. 

"But  I  think  I  would  have  heard  them  start  it,* 
went  on  the  lad.  "Maybe  it  drifted  off,  though 
I'm  sure  I  tied  it  securely." 

"No,  there's  not  much  likelihood  of  that 
There's  no  wind  to-day  and  no  currents  in  the 
lake.  But  it  could  easily  have  been  towed  off  by 
some  one  in  a  rowboat  and  then  you  would  not 
have  heard  the  motor  start." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  the  youth.  "That's  prob- 
ably how  they  did  it.  They  sneaked  up  here  in  a 
rowboat  and  towed  the  Arrow  ofE  I'm  sure 
of  it." 

"And  I'll  wager  I  know  who  did  it,"  exclaimed 
Mr.  Jackson  energetically. 

"Who?"  demanded  Tom  quickly. 

"Those  men  who  were  sneaking  around — • 
Happy  Harry  and  his  gang.  They  stole  the  boat 
once  and  they'd  do  it  again.  Those  men  took 
your  boat,  Tom." 

The  young  inventor  shook  his  head. 

"No,"  he  answered,  "I  don't  believe  they  did" 

"Why  not?" 

"Well,  because  they  wouldn't  dare  come  back 
here  when  they  knew  we're  on  the  lookout  for 
them.  It  would  be  too  risky." 

"Oh,  those  fellows  don't  care  for  risk,"  was  the 


THE  ARROW  DISAPPEARS 

opinion  of  Mr.  Jackson.  "Take  my  word  for  it, 
they  have  your  boat.  They  have  been  keeping 
watch,  and  as  soon  as  they  saw  the  dock  unpro- 
tected they  sneaked  up  and  stole  the  Arrow'' 

"I  don't  think  so,"  repeated  Mr.  Swift's  son, 

"Who  do  you  think  took  it,  then?" 

"Andy  Foger !"  was  the  quick  response.  "I  be- 
lieve he  and  his  cronies  did  it  to  annoy  me.  They 
have  been  trying  to  get  even  with  me — or  at  least 
Andy  has — for  outbidding  him  on  this  boat.  He's 
tried  several  times,  but  he  hasn't  succeeded — until 
now.  I'm  sure  Andy  Foger  has  my  boat,"  and 
Tom,  with  a  grim  tightening  of  his  lips,  swung 
around  as  though  to  start  in  instant  pursuit. 

"Where  are  you  going?"  asked  Mr.  Jackson. 

"To  find  Andy  and  his  cronies.  When  I  locate 
them  I'll  make  them  tell  me  where  my  boat  is." 

"Hadn't  you  better  send  some  word  to  your 
father  ?  You  can  hardly  get  to  Sandport  now,  and 
he'll  be  worried  about  you." 

"That's  so,  I  will.  I'll  telephone  dad  that  the 
boat — no,  I'll  not  do  that  either,  for  he'd  only 
worry  and  maybe  get  sick.  I'll  just  tell  him  I've 
had  a  little  accident,  that  Andy  ran  into  me  and 
that  I  can't  come  back  to  the  hotel  for  a  day  or 
two.  Maybe  I'll  be  lucky  to  find  my  boat  in  that 
time.  But  dad  won't  worry  then,  and,  when  I  see 


124      TOM  SWIFT  AND  his  MOTOR-BOAT 

him,  I  can  explain.  That's  what  I'll  do,"  and 
Tom  was  soon  talking  to  Mr.  Swift  by  telephone. 

The  inventor  was  very  sorry  his  son  could  not 
come  back  to  rejoin  him  and  Ned,  but  there  was 
no  help  for  it,  and,  with  as  cheerful  voice  as  he 
could  assume,  the  lad  promised  to  start  for  Sand- 
port  at  the  earliest  opportunity. 

"Now  to  find  Andy  and  my  boat!"  Tom  ex* 
claimed  as  he  hung  up  the  telephone  receiver- 


CHAPTER  XV 

A  DISMAYING  STATEMENT 

TROUBLE  is  sometimes  good  in  a  way ;  it  makes 
a  person  resourceful.  Tom  Swift  had  had  his 
*hare  of  annoyances  of  late,  but  they  had  served 
a  purpose.  He  had  learned  to  think  clearly  and 
quickly.  Now,  when  he  found  his  boat  stolen,  he 
at  once  began  to  map  out  a  plan  of  action. 

"What  will  you  do  first?"  asked  Mr.  Jackson 
as  he  saw  his  employer's  son  hesitating. 

"First  I'm  going  to  Andy  Foger's  house,"  de- 
clared the  young  inventor.  "If  he's  home  I'm 
going  to  tell  him  what  I  think  of  him.  If  he's 
not,  I'm  going  to  find  him." 

•'Why  don't  you  take  your  sailboat  and  run 
down  to  his  dock?"  suggested  the  engineer.  "It 
isn't  as  quick  as  your  motor-boat,  but  it's  better 
than  walking." 

"So  it  is,"  exclaimed  the  lad.  "I  will  use  my 
catboat.  I  had  forgotten  all  about  it  of  late.  I'm 
glad  you  spoke." 

Ml 


126      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

He  was  soon  sailing  down  the  lake  in  the  direc- 
tion of  the  boathouse  on  the  water  front  of  Mr. 
Foger's  property.  It  needed  but  a  glance  around 
the  dock  to  show  him  that  the  Red  Streak  was  not 
there,  but  Tom  recollected  the  accident  to  the 
steering  gear  and  thought  perhaps  Andy  had 
taken  his  boat  to  some  wharf  where  there  was  a 
repair  shop  and  there  left  it  to  return  home  him- 
self. But  inquiry  of  Mrs.  Foger,  who  was  as  nice 
a  woman  as  her  son  was  a  mean  lad,  gave  Tom 
the  information  that  his  enemy  was  not  ar  home. 

"He  telephoned  to  me  that  his  boat  was  dam- 
aged," said  Mrs.  Foger  gently,  "and  that  he  had 
taken  it  to  get  fixed.  Then,  he  said,  he  and  some 
friends  were  going  on  a  little  cruise  and  might 
not  be  back  to-night." 

"Did  he  say  where  he  was  going?"  asked  our 
hero,  who  did  not  tell  Andy's  mother  why  he 
wanted  to  see  her  son. 

"No,  and  I'm  worried  about  him.  Sometimes  I 
think  Andy  is  too — well,  too  impetuous,  and  I'm 
afraid  he  will  get  into  trouble." 

Tom,  in  spite  of  his  trouble,  could  hardly  for- 
bear smiling.  Andy's  mother  was  totally  unaware 
of  the  mean  traits  of  her  son  and  thought  him  a 
very  fine  chap.  Tom  was  not  going  to  undeceive 
her. 

"I'm  afraid  something  will  happen  to  him,"  she 


A  DAMAGING  STATEMENT  12? 

went  on.  "Do  you  think  there  is  any  danger  being 
out  on  the  lake  in  a  motor-boat,  Mr.  Swift?  1 
understand  you  have  one." 

"Yes,  I  have  one,"  answered  Tom.  He  was 
going  to  say  he  had  once  had  one,  but  thought 
better  of  it.  "No,  there  is  very  little  danger  this 
time  of  year,"  he  added. 

"I  am  very  glad  to  hear  you  say  so,"  went  on 
Mrs.  Foger  with  a  sigh.  "I  shall  feel  more  at 
ease  when  Andy  is  away  now.  When  he  returns 
home,  I  shall  tell  him  you  called  upon  him  and 
he  will  return  your  visit.  I  am  glad  to  see  that 
the  custom  of  paying  calls  has  not  died  out  among 
the  present  generation.  It  is  a  pleasant  habit,  and 
I  am  glad  to  have  my  son  conform  to  it.  He  shall 
return  your  kind  visit." 

"Oh,  no,  it's  of  no  consequence,"  replied  Tom 
quickly,  thinking  grimly  that  his  visit  was  far 
from  a  friendly  one.  "There  is  no  need  to  tell 
your  son  I  was  here.  I  will  probably  see  him  in 
a  day  or  two." 

"Oh,  but  I  shall  tell  him,"  insisted  Mrs.  Foger 
with  a  kind  smile.  "I'm  sure  he  will  appreciate 
your  call." 

There  was  much  doubt  concerning  this  in  the 
mind  of  the  young  inventor,  but  he  did  not  ex- 
press it  and  soon  took  his  leave.  Up  and  down 
the  lake  for  the  rest  of  the  day  he  cruised,  looking 


128      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

in  vain  for  a  sight  of  Andy  Foger  in  the  Red 
Streak,  but  the  racing  boat  appeared  to  be  well 
hidden. 

"If  I  only  could  find  where  they've  taken  mine," 
mused  Tom.  "Hang  it  all,  this  is  rotten  luck!" 
and  for  the  first  time  he  began  to  feel  discouraged. 

"Maybe  you'd  better  notify  the  police,"  sug- 
gested Mr.  Jackson  when  Tom  returned  to  the 
Swift  house  that  night.  "They  might  help  you 
locate  it." 

"I  think  I  can  do  as  well  as  the  police,"  an- 
swered the  youth.  "If  the  boat  is  anywhere  it's 
on  the  lake,  and  the  police  have  no  craft  in  which 
to  make  a  search." 

"That's  so,"  agreed  the  engineer.  "I  wish  I 
could  help  you,  but  I  don't  believe  it  would  be  wise 
for  me  to  leave  the  house,  especially  since  those 
men  have  been  about  lately." 

"No,  you  must  stay  here,"  was  Tom's  opinion. 
"I'll  take  another  day  or  two  to  search.  By  this 
time  Andy  and  his  gang  will  return,  I'm  sure,  and 
I  can  tackle  them." 

"Suppose  they  don't?" 

"Well,  then  I'll  make  a  tour  of  the  lake  in  my 
sailboat  and  I'll  run  up  to  Sandport  and  tell  dad, 
for  he  will  wonder  what's  keeping  me.  I'll  know 
better  next  time  than  to  leave  my  boat  at  the  dock 
without  taking1  out  the  connection  at  the  spark 


A  DAMAGING  STATEMENT  12$ 

coil,  so  no  one  can  start  the  motor.  I  should  have 
done  that  at  first,  but  you  always  think  of  those 
things  afterward." 

The  lad  began  his  search  again  the  next  morn- 
ing and  cruised  about  in  little  bays  and  gulfs  look- 
ing for  a  sight  of  the  Red  Streak  or  the  Arrow, 
but  he  saw  neither,  and  a  call  at  Andy's  house 
showed  that  the  red-haired  youth  had  not  re- 
turned. Mrs.  Foger  was  quite  nervous  over  her 
son's  continued  absence,  but  Mr.  Foger  thought 
it  was  all  right. 

Another  day  passed  without  any  results  and  the 
young  inventor  was  getting  so  nervous,  partly 
with  worrying  over  the  loss  of  his  boat  and  partly 
on  his  father's  account,  that  he  did  not  know  what 
to  do. 

"I  can't  stand  it  any  longer,"  he  announced  to 
Mrs.  Baggert  the  night  of  the  third  day,  after  a 
telephone  message  had  been  received  from  Mr. 
Swift.  The  inventor  wanted  to  know  why  his  son 
did  not  return  to  the  hotel  to  join  him  and  Ned. 

"Well,  what  will  you  do?"  asked  the  house- 
keeper. 

"If  I  don't  find  my  boat  to-morrow,  I'll  sail  to 
Sandport,  bring  home  dad  and  Ned,  and  we  three 
will  go  all  over  the  lake.  My  boat  must  be  on  it 
somewhere,  but  Lake  Carlopa  is  so  cut  up  that  it 
could  easily  be  hidden." 


I30      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"It's  queer  that  the  Foger  boy  doesn't  come 
home.  That  makes  it  look  as  if  he  was  guilty." 

"Oh,  I'm  sure  he  took  it  all  right,"  returned 
Tom.  "All  I  want  is  to  see  him.  It  certainly  is 
queer  that  he  stays  away  as  long  as  he  does.  Sam 
Snedecker  and  Pete  Bailey  are  with  him,  too.  But 
they'll  have  to  return  some  time." 

Tom  dreamed  that  night  of  finding  his  boat  and 
that  it  was  a  wreck.  He  awoke,  glad  to  find  that 
the  latter  part  was  not  true,  but  wishing  that  some 
of  his  night  vision  might  come  to  pass  during  the 
day. 

He  started  out  right  after  breakfast,  and,  as 
usual,  headed  for  the  Foger  home.  He  almost 
disliked  to  ask  Mrs.  Foger  if  her  son  had  yet 
returned,  for  Andy's  mother  was  so  polite  and  so 
anxious  to  know  whether  any  danger  threatened 
that  Tom  hardly  knew  how  to  answer  her.  But 
he  was  saved  that  embarrassment  on  this  occa- 
sion, for  as  he  was  going  up  the  walk  from  the 
lake  to  the  residence  he  met  the  gardener  and 
from  him  learned  that  Andy  had  not  yet  come 
back. 

"But  his  mother  had  a  message  from  him,  I  did 
hear,"  went  on  the  man.  "He's  on  his  way.  It 
seems  he  had  some  trouble." 

"Trouble.    What  kind  of  trouble  ?"  asked  Tom. 

"I  don't  rightly  know,  sir,  but/'  and  here  the 


A  DAMAGING  STATEMENT  131 

gardener  winked  his  eye,  "Master  Andy  isn't  par- 
ticular what  kind  of  trouble  he  gets  into." 

"That's  right,"  agreed  our  hero,  and  as  he  went 
down  again  to  where  he  had  left  his  boat  he 
thought :  "Nor  what  kind  of  trouble  he  gets  other 
people  into.  I  wish  I  had  hold  of  him  for  about 
five  minutes !" 

The  sailboat  swung  slowly  from  the  dock  and 
heeled  over  to  the  gentle  breeze.  Hardly  knowing 
what  to  do,  Tom  headed  for  the  middle  of  the 
lake.  He  was  discouraged  and  tired  of  making 
plans  only  to  have  them  fail. 

As  he  looked  across  the  stretch  of  water  he  saw 
a  boat  coming  toward  him.  He  shaded  his  eyes 
with  his  hand  to  see  better,  and  then,  with  a  pair 
of  marine  glasses,  took  an  observation.  He  ut- 
tered an  exclamation. 

"That's  the  Red  Streak  as  sure  as  I'm  alive !" 
he  cried.  "But  what's  the  matter  with  her? 
They're  rowing!" 

The  lad  headed  his  boat  toward  the  approaching 
one.  There  was  no  doubt  about  it.  It  was  Andy 
Foger's  craft,  but  it  was  not  speeding  forward 
under  the  power  of  the  motor.  Slowly  and  labori- 
ously the  occupants  were  pulling  it  along,  and  as  it 
was  not  meant  to  be  rowed,  progress  was  very 
slow. 

"They've  had  a  breakdown,"  thought  Tom. 


1 32      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Serves  'em  right!  Now  wait  till  I  tackle  'em 
and  find  out  where  my  boat  is.  I've  a  good  notion 
to  have  Andy  Foger  arrested !" 

The  sailing  craft  swiftly  approached  the  motor- 
boat  Tom  could  see  the  three  occupants  looking 
at  him,  apprehensively  as  well  as  curiously,  he 
thought. 

"Guess  they  didn't  think  I'd  keep  after  'em," 
mused  the  young  inventor,  and  a  little  later  he  was 
beside  the  Red  Streak. 

"Well,"  cried  Tom  angrily,  "it's  about  time  you 
came  back !" 

"We've  had  a  breakdown,"  remarked  Andy, 
and  he  seemed  quite  humiliated.  He  was  begin- 
ning to  find  out  that  he  didn't  know  as  much  about 
a  motor-boat  as  he  thought  he  did. 

"I've  been  waiting  for  you,"  went  on  Tom. 

"Waiting  for  us?  What  for?"  asked  Sam 
Snedecker. 

"What  for?  As  if  you  didn't  know!"  blurted 
out  the  owner  of  the  Arrow.  "I  want  my  boat, 
Andy  Foger,  the  one  you  stole  from  me  and  hid ! 
Tell  me  where  it  is  at  once  or  I'll  have  you  ar- 
rested!" 

"Your  boat !"  repeated  the  bully,  and  there  was 
no  mistaking  the  surprise  in  his  tones. 

"Yes,  my  boat!  Don't  try  to  bluff  me  like 
that." 


'A  DAMAGING  STATEMENT  133 

"I'm  not  trying  to  bluff  you.  We've  been  away 
three  days  and  just  got  back." 

"Yes,  I  know  you  have.  You  took  my  boat 
with  you,  too." 

"Are  you  crazy  ?"  demanded  Pete  Bailey. 

"No,  but  you  fellows  must  have  been  to  think 
you  could  take  my  boat  and  me  not  know  it,"  and 
Tom,  filled  with  wrath,  grasped  the  gunwale  of 
the  Red  Streak  as  if  he  feared  it  would  suddenly 
shoot  away. 

"Look  here!"  burst  out  Andy,  and  he  spoke 
sincerely,  "we  didn't  touch  your  boat.  Did  we, 
fellows?" 

"No!"  exclaimed  Sam  and  Pete  at  once,  and 
they  were  very  much  in  earnest. 

"We  didn't  even  know  it  was  stolen,  did  we?" 
went  on  Andy. 

"No,"  agreed  his  chums.  Tom  looked  uncon- 
vinced. 

"We  haven't  taken  your  boat  and  we  can  prove 
it,"  continued  the  bully.  "I  know  you  and  I  have 
had  quarrels,  but  I'm  telling  you  the  truth,  Tom 
Swift.  I  never  touched  your  boat." 

There  was  no  mistaking  the  sincerity  of  Andy. 
He  was  not  a  skilful  deceiver,  and  Tom,  looking 
into  his  squint-eyes,  which  were  opened  unusually 
Wide,  could  not  but  help  believing  the  fellow. 

"We  haven't  seen  it  since  the  day  we  had  the 


134      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

collision,"  added  Andy,  and  his  chums  confirmed 
this  statement. 

"We  went  off  on  a  little  cruise,"  continued  the 
red-haired  bully,  "and  broke  down  several  times. 
We  had  bad  luck.  Just  as  we  were  nearing  home 
something  went  wrong  with  the  engine  again.  I 
never  saw  such  a  poor  motor.  But  we  never  took 
your  boat,  Tom  Swift,  and  we  can  prove  it" 

Tom  was  in  despair.  He  had  been  so  sure  thai 
Andy  was  the  thief,  that  to  believe  otherwise  wa? 
difficult.  Yet  he  felt  that  he  must.  He  looked  at 
the  disabled  motor  of  the  Red  Streak  and  viewed 
it  with  the  interested  and  expert  eye  of  a  ma- 
chinist, no  matter  if  the  owner  of  it  was  his  enemy. 
Then  suddenly  a  brilliant  idea  came  into  Tom's 
head. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

STILL  ON  THE  SEARCH 

"You  seem  to  have  lots  of  trouble  with  your 
boat,  Andy,"  said  Tom  after  a  few  moments  of 
rather  embarrassed  silence. 

"I  do,"  admitted  the  owner  of  the  Red  Streak. 
"I've  had  bad  luck  ever  since  I  got  it,  but  usually 
I've  been  able  to  fix  it  by  looking  in  the  book. 
This  time  I  can't  find  out  what  the  trouble  is,  nor 
can  any  of  the  fellows.  It  stopped  when  we  were 
out  in  the  middle  of  the  lake  and  we  had  to  row. 
I'm  sick  of  motor-boating." 

"Suppose  I  fix  it  for  you?"  went  on  Tom. 

"If  you  do,  I'll  pay  you  well." 

"I  wouldn't  do  it  for  pay — not  the  kind  you 
mean,"  continued  the  young  inventor. 

"What  do  you  mean  then?"  and  Andy's  face, 
that  had  lighted  up,  became  glum  again. 

"Well,  if  I  fix  your  boat  for  you,  will  you  let 
me  run  it  a  little  while  ?" 

"You  mean  show  me  how  to  run  it?" 
135 


136      TOM  SWIFT  srtfD  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"No,  I  mean  take  it  myself.  Look  here,  Andy> 
my  boat's  been  stolen,  and  I  thought  you  took  it 
to  get  even  with  me.  You  say  you  didn't " 

"And  I  didn't  touch  it,"  interposed  the  squint- 
eyed  lad  quickly. 

"All  right,  I  believe  you.  But  somebody  stole 
it,  and  I  think  I  know  who." 

"Who?"  asked  Sam  Snedecker. 

"Well,  you  wouldn't  know  if  I  told  you,  but  I 
suspect  some  men  with  whom  I  had  trouble  be- 
fore," and  Tom  referred  to  Happy  Harry  and  his 
gang.  "I  think  they  have  my  boat  on  this  lake, 
and  I'd  like  to  get  another  speedy  craft  to  cruise- 
about  it  and  make  a  further  search.  How  about 
it,  Andy?  If  I  fix  your  boat,  will  you  let  me  take 
it  to  look  for  my  boat?" 

"Sure  thing!"  agreed  the  bully  quickly,  and  his 
voice  for  once  was  friendly  toward  Tom.  "Fix 
the  engine  so  it  will  run,  and  you  can  use  the  Red 
Streak  as  long  as  you  like." 

"Oh,  I  probably  wouldn't  want  it  very  long.  I 
could  cover  the  lake  in  about  three  days,  and  I 
hope  by  that  time  I  could  locate  the  thieves.  Is 
it  a  bargain  ?" 

"Sure,"  agreed  Andy  again,  and  Tom  got  into 
the  motor-boat  to  look  at  the  engine.  He  found 
that  it  would  require  some  time  to  adjust  it  prop- 


STILL  ON  THE  SEARCH  137 

erly  and  that  it  would  be  necessary  to  take  the 
motor  apart. 

"I  think  I'd  better  tow  you  to  my  dock,"  the 
young  inventor  said  to  Andy.  "I  can  use  some 
tools  from  the  shop  then,  and  by  to-night  I'll  have 
the  Red  Streak  in  running  order." 

The  breeze  was  in  the  right  quarter,  fortunately, 
and  with  the  motor-boat  dragging  behind,  the 
^Arrow's  owner  put  the  nose  of  the  sailing  craft 
toward  his  home  dock. 

When  Tom  reached  his  house  he  found  that 
Mrs.  Baggert  had  received  another  telephone 
message  from  Mr.  Swift,  inquiring  why  his  son 
had  not  returned  to  Sandport. 

"He  says  if  you  don't  come  back  by  to-mor- 
row," repeated  the  housekeeper,  "that  he'll  come 
home  by  train.  He's  getting  anxious,  I  believe." 

"Shouldn't  wonder,"  admitted  Tom.  "But  I 
want  him  to  stay  there.  The  change  will  do  him 
good.  I'll  soon  have  my  boat  back,  now  that  I 
can  go  about  the  lake  swiftly,  and  then  I'll  join 
him.  I'll  tell  him  to  be  patient." 

Tom  talked  with  his  father  at  some  length,  as- 
suring him  that  everything  was  well  at  the  Shop- 
ton  house  and  promising  to  soon  be  with  him. 
Then  the  young  inventor  began  work  on  the  mo- 
tor of  the  Red  Streak.  He  found  it  quite  a  job 
and  had  to  call  on  Mr.  Jackson  to  help  him,  for 


138      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

one  of  the  pistons  had  to  be  repaired  and  a  num- 
ber of  adjustments  made  to  the  cylinders. 

But  that  night  the  motor  was  fully  mended 
and  placed  back  in  the  boat.  It  was  in  better 
shape  than  it  had  been  since  Andy  had  purchased 
the  craft. 

"There,"  remarked  Tom,  "now  I'm  ready  to 
hunt  for  those  scoundrels.  Will  you  leave  your 
boat  at  my  dock  to-night,  Andy  ?" 

"Yes,  so  you  can  start  out  early  in  the  morn* 
ing.  I'm  not  going." 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Tom  quickly. 

'Well — er — you  see  I've  had  enough  of  motor- 
ing for  a  while,"  explained  Andy.  "Besides,  I 
don't  believe  my  mother  would  like  me  to  go  out 
on  a  chase  after  thieves.  If  we  had  to  shoot  I 
might  hit  one  of  them,  and " 

"Oh,  I  see,"  answered  Tom.  "But  I  don't  like 
to  take  your  boat  alone.  Besides,  I  don't  fancy 
there  will  be  much  shooting.  I  know  I'm  not 
going  to  take  a  gun.  In  fact,  the  one  Mr.  Duncan 
gave  me  is  in  the  boat.  All  I  want  is  to  get  the 
Arrow  back." 

"That's  all  right,"  went  on  Andy.  "You  take 
my  boat  and  use  it  as  long  as  you  like.  I'll  rest  up 
a  few  days.  When  you  find  your  boat  you  can 
bring  mine  back." 

Tom  understood.    He  was  just  as  glad  not  to 


STILL  ON  THE  SEARCH  139 

have  Andy  accompany  him  in  the  chase,  as  he 
and  the  red-haired  lad  had  never  been  good 
friends  and  probably  never  would  be.  So  it  would 
cause  some  embarrassment  to  be  together  in  a 
boat  all  day.  Then  again  Tom  knew  he  could 
manage  the  Red  Streak  better  alone,  but,  of 
course,  he  did  not  want  to  mention  this  when  he 
asked  for  the  loan  of  the  craft.  Andy's  own 
suggestion,  however,  had  solved  the  difficulty. 
Tom  had  an  idea  that  Andy  felt  a  little  timid 
about  going  in  pursuit  of  the  thieves,  but  naturally 
it  would  not  do  to  mention  this,  for  the  squint- 
eyed  lad  considered  himself  quite  a  fighter. 

Early  the  next  morning,  alone  in  the  Red 
Streak,  Tom  continued  the  search  for  his  stolen 
boat.  He  started  out  from  his  home  dock  and 
mapped  out  a  course  that  would  take  him  well 
around  the  lake. 

"I  s'pose  I  could  take  a  run  to  Sandport  now," 
mused  the  youth  as  he  shot  in  and  out  of  the 
little  bays,  keeping  watch  for  the  Arrow.  "But  if 
I  do  dad  will  have  to  be  told  all  about  it,  and  he'll 
worry.  Then,  too,  he  might  want  to  accompany 
me,  and  I  think  I  can  manage  this  better  alone, 
for  the  Red  Streak  will  run  faster  with  only  one 
in.  I  ought  to  wind  up  this  search  in  two  days, 
if  my  boat  is  still  on  the  lake.  And  if  those 


140      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

scoundrels  have  sunk  her  I'll  make  them  pay 
for  it." 

On  shot  the  speedy  motor  boat,  in  and  out 
along  the  winding  shore  line,  with  the  lad  in  the 
bow  at  the  steering-wheel  peering  with  eager  eyes 
into  every  nook  and  corner  where  his  craft  might 
be  hidden. 


CHAPTER  XVII 
"THERE  SHE  is!" 

ANTICIPATING  that  he  would  be  some  time  on 
his  search,  the  young  inventor  had  gone  prepared 
for  it.  He  had  a  supply  of  provisions  and  he  had 
told  Mrs.  Baggert  he  might  not  be  back  that 
night.  But  he  did  not  intend  to  sleep  aboard  the 
Red  Streak,  which,  being  a  racing  boat,  was  not 
large  enough  to  afford  much  room  for  passengers. 
Tom  had  planned,  therefore,  to  put  up'at  some 
hotel  near  the  lake  in  case  his  hunt  should  last 
beyond  one  night. 

That  it  would  do  this  was  almost  certain,  for 
all  that  morning  he  searched  unavailingly  for  the 
Arrow.  A  distant  mill  whistle  sounding  over 
Lake  Carlopa  told  him  it  was  noon. 

Dinner  time,"  he  announced  to  himself.  "Guess 
I'll  run  up  along  shore  in  the  shade  and  eat" 

Selecting  a  place  where  the  trees  overhung  the 
water,  forming  a  quiet,  cool  nook,  Tom  sent  the 
boat  in  there,  and,  tying  it  to  a  leaning  tree,  he 

141 


I42      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

began  his  simple  meal.  Various  thoughts  filled 
his  mind,  but  chief  among  them  was  the  desire  to 
overtake  the  thieves  who  had  his  boat  That  it 
was  Happy  Harry's  gang  he  was  positive. 

The  lad  nearly  finished  eating  and  was  consid* 
•sring  what  direction  he  might  best  search  in  next 
when  he  heard,  running  along  a  road  that  bor- 
dered the  lake,  an  automobile. 

"Wonder  who  that  it  ?"  mused  Tom.  "It  won't 
do  any  harm  to  take  a  look,  for  it  might  be  some 
of  those  thieves  again.  They  probably  still  have 
their  auto  or  Happy  Harry  couldn't  have  gotten 
from  Sandport  to  Shopton  so  quickly." 

The  young  inventor  slipped  ashore  from  the 
motor-boat,  taking  care  to  make  no  noise.  Steal- 
ing silently  along  toward  the  road,  he  peered 
through  the  underbrush  for  a  sight  of  the  ma- 
chine, which  seemed  to  be  going  slowly.  But 
before  the  youth  had  a  glimpse  of  it  he  was  made 
aware  who  the  occupant  was  by  hearing  some  one 
exclaim : 

"Bless  my  shoe  laces  if  this  cantankerous  con- 
traption isn't  going  wrong  again!  I  wonder  if 
it's  going  to  have  a  fit  here  in  this  lonely  place. 
It  acts  just  as  if  it  was.  Bless  my  very  existence! 
Hold  on  now.  Be  nice!  be  nice!" 

"Mr.  Damon!"  exclaimed  Tom,  and,  without 
knowing  it,  he  had  spoken  aloud. 


"THERE  SHE  IS!"  143 

"Hold  on  there !  Hold  on !  Who's  calling  me 
in  this  forsaken  locality?  Bless  my  shirt  studs! 
But  who  is  it?"  and  the  eccentric  man  who  had 
sold  Tom  the  motor-cycle  looked  intently  at  the 
bushes. 

"Here  I  am,  Mr.  Damon,"  answered  the  lad, 
stepping  out  into  the  road.  "I  knew  it  was  you 
as  soon  as  I  saw  you." 

"Bless  my  liver,  but  that's  very  true!  I  sup- 
pose you  lieard  my  unfortunate  automobile  puff- 
ing along.  I  declare  I  don't  know  what  ails  it.  I 
got  it  on  the  advice  of  my  physician,  who  said  I 
must  get  out  in  the  air,  but,  bless  my  gears,  it's 
the  auto  who  needs  a  doctor  more  than  I  do !  It's 
continually  out  of  order.  Something  is  going  to 
happen  right  away.  I  can  tell  by  the  way  it's 
behaving." 

Mr.  Damon  had  thrown  out  the  clutch,  but  the 
engine  was  still  running,  though  in  a  jerky,  uncer- 
tain fashion  which  indicated  to  the  trained  ear  of 
the  young  inventor  that  something  was  wrong. 

"Perhaps  I  can  fix  it  for  you  as  I  did  before/' 
ventured  Tom. 

"Bless  my  eyebrows !  Perhaps  you  can/'  cried 
the  eccentric  man  hopefully.  "You  always  seem 
to  turn  up  at  the  right  moment.  How  do  you 
manage  it  ?" 

"I   don't   know.     I    remember   the   time   you 


144      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

turned  up  just  when  I  wanted  you  to  help  me 
capture  Happy  Harry  and  his  gang,  and  now,  by 
a  strange  coincidence,  I'm  after  them  again." 

"You  don't  say  so !  My  good  gracious !  Bless 
my  hatband !  But  that's  odd.  There !"  he  ejacu- 
lated suddenly  as  the  automobile  engine  stopped 
with  a  choking  sigh,  "I  knew  something  was 
going  to  happen." 

"Let  me  take  a  look,"  proposed  the  lad,  and  he 
was  soon  busy  peering  into  the  interior  of  the 
machine.  At  first  he  could  not  find  the  trouble, 
but  being  a  persistent  youth,  Tom  went  at  it  sys- 
tematically and  located  it  in  two  places.  The 
clutch  was  not  rightly  adjusted  and  the  carbu- 
retor float  feed  needed  fixing. 

The  young  inventor  was  not  long  in  making 
the  slight  repairs  and  then  he  assured  Mr.  Damon 
that  his  automobile  would  run  properly. 

"Bless  my  very  existence,  but  what  a  thing  it 
is  to  have  a  head  for  mechanics !"  exclaimed  the 
odd  man  gratefully.  "Now  it  would  bother  me 
to  adjust  a  nutmeg  grater  if  it  got  out  of  order, 
but  I  dare  say  you  could  fix  it  in  no  time." 

"Yes,"  answered  Tom,  "I  could  and  so  could 
you,  for  there's  nothing  about  it  to  fix.  But  you 
can  go  ahead  now  if  you  wish." 

"Thank  you.  It  just  shows  how  ignorant  I 
am  of  machinery.  I  presume  something  will  #o 


"THERE  SHE  IS!"  145 

wrong  in  another  mile  or  two.  But  may  I  ask 
what  you  are  doing  here?  I  presume  you  are  in 
your  motor-boat,  sailing  about  for  pleasure.  And 
didn't  I  understand  you  to  say  you  were  after 
those  chaps  again  ?  Bless  my  watch  charm,  but  I 
was  so  interested  in  my  machine  that  I  didn't 
think  to  ask  you." 

"Yes,  I  am  after  those  thieves  again." 

"In  your  motor-boat,  I  presume.  Well,  I  hope 
you  catch  them.  What  have  they  stolen  now  ?" 

"My  motor-boat.  That's  why  I'm  after  them, 
but  I  had  to  borrow  a  craft  to  chase  them  with." 

"Bless  my  soul !  You  don't  tell  me !  How  did 
it  happen?" 

Thereupon  the  lad  related  as  much  of  the  story 
as  was  necessary  to  put  Mr.  Damon  in  possession 
of  the  facts  and  he  ended  up  with : 

"I  don't  suppose  you  have  seen  anything  of  the 
men  in  my  boat,  have  you  ?" 

Mr.  Damon  seemed  strangely  excited.  He  had 
entered  his  auto,  but  as  the  lad's  story  progressed 
the  odd  gentleman  had  descended.  When  Tom 
finished  he  exclaimed: 

"Don't  say  a  word  now — not  a  word.  I  want 
to  think,  and  that  is  a  process  which,  for  me,  re- 
quires a  little  time.  Don't  speak  a  word  now. 
Bless  my  left  hand,  but  I  think  I  can  help  you !" 

He  frowned,  stamped  first  one  foot,  then  the 


"146      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

other,  looked  up  at  the  sky,  as  if  seeking  inspira- 
tion there,  and  then  down  at  the  ground,  as  if 
that  would  help  him  to  think.  Then  he  clapped 
his  hands  smartly  together  and  cried  out: 

"Bless  my  shoe  buttons !" 

"Have  you  seen  them  ?"  asked  Tom  eagerly. 

"Was  your  boat  one  with  a  red  arrow  painted 
on  the  bow  ?"  asked  Mr.  Damon  in  turn. 

"It  was!"  and  the  lad  was  now  almost  as  ex- 
cited as  was  his  friend. 

"Then  I've  seen  it,  and,  what's  more,  this 
morning!  Bless  my  spark  plug,  I've  seen  it!" 

"Tell  me  about  it !"  pleaded  the  young  inventor, 
and  Mr.  Damon,  calming  himself  after  an  effort, 
resumed : 

"I  was  out  for  an  early  spin  in  my  auto,"  he 
said,  "and  was  traveling  along  a  road  that  bor- 
dered the  lake,  about  fifteen  miles  above  here.  I 
heard  a  motor-boat  puffing  along  near  shore,  and, 
looking  through  the  trees,  I  saw  one  containing 
three  men.  It  had  a  red  arrow  on  the  bow,  and 
that's  why  I  noticed  it,  because  I  recalled  that 
'our  boat  was  named  the  Dart" 

"Arrow"  corrected  Tom. 

"The  Arrow.  Oh,  yes,  I  knew  it  was  some- 
thing like  that.  Well,  of  course  at  the  time  I 
didn't  think  that  it  was  your  boat,  but  I  asso- 


"THERE  SHE  IS!"  147 

cited  it  in  my  mind  with  yours.  Do  you  catch 
my  meaning  ?" 

Tom  did  and  said  so,  wishing  Mr.  Damon 
would  hurry  and  get  to  the  point.  But  the  eccen- 
tric character  had  to  do  things  in  his  own  way. 

"Exactly,"  he  resumed.  "Well,  I  didn't  think 
that  was  your  boat,  but,  at  the  same  time,  I 
watched  the  men  out  of  curiosity,  and  I  was 
struck  with  their  behavior.  They  seemed  to  be 
quarreling,  and,  from  what  I  could  hear,  two  of 
them  seemed  to  be  remonstrating  with  the  third 
one  for  having  taken  some  sort  of  a  piece  of 
wood  from  the  forward  compartment.  I  believe 
that  is  the  proper  term." 

"Yes !"  Tom  almost  shouted.  "But  where  did 
they  go  ?  What  became  of  them  ?  What  was  the 
man  doing  to  the  forward  compartment — where 
the  gasoline  tank  is  ?" 

"Exactly.  I  was  trying  to  think  what  was  kept 
there.  That's  it,  the  gasoline  tank.  Well,  the 
boat  kept  on  up  the  lake,  and  I  don't  know  what 
became  of  the  men.  But  about  that  piece  of  wood. 
It  seems  that,  one  of  the  men  removed  a  block 
from  under  the  tank  and  the  others  objected. 
That's  why  they  were  quarreling." 

"That's  very  strange,"  exclaimed  the  lad. 
"There  must  be  some  mystery  about  my  boat  that 
I  don't  understand.  But  that  will  keep  until  I 


148      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

get  the  boat  itself.  Good-by,  Mr.  Damon.  I 
must  be  off." 

"Where  to?" 

"Up  the  lake  after  those  thieves.  I  must  lose 
no  time/  'and  Tom  started  to  go  back  to  where 
he  had  left  the  Red  Streak. 

"Hold  on !"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "I  have  some- 
thing to  propose,  Tom.  Two  heads  are  better 
than  one,  even  if  one  doesn't  know  how  to  adjust 
a  nutmeg  grate.  Suppose  I  come  along  with  you  ? 
I  can  point  out  the  direction  the  men  took,  at  any 
rate." 

"I'll  be  very  glad  to  have  you,"  answered  the 
lad,  who  felt  that  he  might  need  help  if  there 
were  three  of  the  thieves  in  his  craft.  "But  what 
will  you  do  with  your  automobile  ?" 

"I'll  just  run  it  down  the  road  a  way  to  where 
a  friend  oi  mine  has  a  stable.  Ill  leave  it  in 
there  and  join  you.  Will  you  let  me  come?  Bless 
my  eye  glasses,  but  I'd  like  to  help  catch  those 
scoundrels !" 

"I'll  be  very  glad  to  have  you.  Go  ahead,  put 
the  auto  in  the  barn  and  I'll  wait  for  you." 

"I  have  a  better  plan  than  that,"  replied  Mr. 
Damon.  "Run  your  boat  down  to  that  point," 
and  he  indicated  one  about  a  mile  up  the  lake. 
"I'll  be  there  waiting  for  you,  and  we'll  lose  no 


"THERE  SHE  IS'"  149 

time.  I  can  cover  the  ground  faster  in  my  auto 
than  you  can  in  your  boat." 

Tom  saw  the  advantage  of  this  and  was  soon 
under  way,  while  he  heard  on  shore  the  puffing 
of  his  friend's  car.  On  the  trip  to  the  point  Tom 
puzzled  over  the  strange  actions  of  the  man  in 
taking  one  of  the  braces  from  under  the  gasoline 
tank. 

"I'll  wager  he  did  it  before,"  thought  the  lad. 
"It  must  be  the  same  person  who  was  tampering 
with  the  lock  of  the  forward  compartment  the 
day  I  bought  the  boat.  But  why — that's  the  ques- 
tion— why  ?" 

He  could  find  no  answer  to  this,  puzzle  over  it 
as  he  did,  and  he  gave  it  up.  His  whole  desire 
now  was  to  get  on  the  trail  of  the  thieves,  and  he 
had  strong  hopes,  after  the  clew  Mr.  Damon  had 
given  him.  The  latter  was  waiting  for  him  on  the 
point,  and  so  nimble  was  the  owner  of  the  auto, 
in  spite  of  his  size,  that  Tom  was  not  delayed 
more  than  the  fraction  of  a  minute  ere  he  was 
under  way  again,  speeding  up  the  lake. 

"Now  keep  well  in  toward  shore,"  advised  Mr. 
Damon.  "Those  fellows  don't  want  to  be  ob- 
served any  more  than  they  can  help,  and  they'll 
sneak  along  the  bank.  They  were  headed  in  that 
direction,"  and  he  pointed  it  out.  "Now  I  hope 
you  won't  think  I'm  in  the  way.  Besides,  you 


150      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

know,  if  you  get  your  boat  back,  you'll  want 
some  one  to  help  steer  it,  while  you  run  this  one. 
I  can  do  that,  at  all  events,  bless  my  very  exist- 
ence!" 

"I  am  very  glad  of  your  help,"  replied  the  lad, 
but  he  did  not  take  his  eyes  from  the  water  before 
him,  and  he  was  looking  for  a  sight  of  his  boat 
with  the  men  in  it. 

For  three  hours  or  more  Tom  and  Mr.  Damon 
cruised  in  and  out  along  the  shore  of  the  lake, 
going  farther  and  farther  up  the  body  of  water. 
Tom  was  beginning  to  think  that  he  would  reach 
Sandport  without  catching  sight  of  the  thieves, 
and  he  was  wondering  if,  after  all,  he  might  not 
better  stop  off  and  see  his  father  when,  above  the 
puffing  of  the  motor  in  the  Red  Streak,  he  heard 
the  put-put  of  another  boat. 

"Listen !"  cried  Mr.  Damon,  who  had  heard  it 
at  the  same  time. 

Tom  nodded. 

"They're  just  ahead  of  us/'  whispered  his  com- 
panion. 

"If  it's  them,"  was  the  lad's  reply. 

"Speed  up  and  we'll  soon  see,"  suggested  Mr. 
Damon,  and  Tom  shoved  the  timer  over.  The 
Red  Streak  forged  ahead.  The  sound  of  the 
other  boat  came  more  plainly  now.  It  was  be- 
yond a  little  point  of  land.  The  young  inventor 


"THERE  SHE  1ST  151 

steered  out  to  get  around  it  and  leaned  eagerly 
forward  to  catch  the  first  glimpse  of  the  unseen 
craft.  Would  it  prove  to  be  the  Arrow? 

The  put-put  became  louder  now.  Mr.  Damon 
was  standing  up,  as  if  that  would,  in  some  mys- 
terious way,  help.  Then  suddenly  the  other  boat 
came  into  view.  Tom  saw  it  in  an  instant  and 
knew  it  for  the  Arrow. 

"There  she  is !"  he  cried. 


CHAPTER  XVIII 

THE    PURSUIT 

FOR  an  instant  after  Tom's  exultant  cry  the 
men  in  the  boat  ahead  were  not  aware  that  they 
were  being  pursued.  Then,  as  the  explosions 
from  the  motor  of  the  Red  Streak  sounded  over 
the  water,  they  turned  to  see  who  was  coming  up 
behind  them.  There  was  no  mistaking  the  atti- 
tude of  the  young  inventor  and  his  companion. 
They  were  leaning  eagerly  forward,  as  if  they 
could  reach  out  and  grasp  the  criminals  who  were 
fleeing  before  them. 

"Put  on  all  the  speed  you  can,  Tom !"  begged 
Mr.  Damon.  "We'll  catch  the  scoundrels  now. 
Speed  up  the  motor !  Oh,  if  I  only  had  my  auto- 
mobile now.  "Bless  my  crank  shaft,  but  one  can 
go  so  much  faster  on  land  than  on  water." 

The  lad  did  not  reply,  but  thought,  with  grim 
humor,  that  running  an  automobile  over  Lake 
Carlopa  would  be  no  small  feat.     Mr.  Damon, 
however,  knew  what  he  was  saying. 
152 


THE  PURSUIT  153 

"We'll  catch  them!  We'll  nab  'em!"  he  cried. 
"Speed  her  up,  Tom." 

The  youth  was  doing  his  best  with  the  motor 
of  the  Red  Streak.  He  was  not  as  well  acquainted 
with  it  as  he  was  with  the  one  in  his  boat,  but  he 
knew,  even  better  than  Andy  Foger,  how  to  make 
it  do  efficient  work.  It  a  foregone  conclusion  that 
the  Red  Streak,  if  rightly  handled,  could  beat  the 
Arrow,  but  there  were  several  points  in  favor  of 
the  thieves.  The  motor  of  Tom's  boat  was  in  per- 
fect order,  and  even  an  amateur,  with  some  knowl- 
edge of  a  boat,  could  make  it  do  nearly  its  best. 
On  the  other  hand,  the  Red  Streak's  machinery 
needed  "nursing."  Again,  the  thieves  had  a  good 
start,  and  that  counted  for  much.  But  Tom 
counted  on  two  other  points.  One  was  that  Happy 
Harry  and  his  gang  would  probably  know  little 
about  the  fine  points  of  a  motor.  They  had  shown 
this  in  letting  the  motor  of  the  boat  they  had  first 
stolen  get  out  of  order,  and  Tom  knew  the  ins 
and  outs  of  a  gasoline  engine  to  perfection.  So 
the  chase  was  not  so  hopeless  as  it  seemed. 

"Do  you  think  you  can  catch  them  ?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon  anxiously. 

"I'm  going  to  make  a  big  try,"  answered  his 
companion. 

"They're  heading  out  into  the  middle  of  the 
lake !"  cried  the  eccentric  man. 


154      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"If  they  do,  I  can  cut  them  off!"  murmure3 
Tom  as  he  put  the  wheel  over. 

But  whoever  was  steering  the  Arrow  knew  bet- 
ter than  to  send  it  on  a  course  that  would  enable 
the  pursuing  boat  to  cut  across  and  shorten  the 
distance  to  it.  After  sending  the  stolen  craft  far 
enough  out  from  shore  to  clear  points  of  land  that 
jutted  out  into  the  lake,  the  leading  boat  was  sent 
straight  ahead. 

"A  stern  chase  and  a  long  chase!"  murmured 
Mr.  Damon.  "Bless  my  rudder,  but  those  fellows 
are  not  going  to  give  up  easily." 

"I  guess  not,"  murmured  Tom.  "Will  you 
steer  for  a  while,  Mr.  Damon  ?" 

"Of  course  I  will.  If  I  could  get  out  and  pull 
the  boat  after  me,  to  make  it  go  faster,  I  would. 
But  as  I  always  lose  my  breath  when  I  run,  per- 
haps it's  just  as  well  that  I  stay  in  here." 

Tom  thought  so  too,  but  his  attention  was  soon 
given  to  the  engine.  He  adjusted  the  timer  to 
get  if  possible  a  little  more  speed  out  of  the  boat 
he  had  borrowed  from  Andy,  and  he  paid  particu- 
lar attention  to  the  oiling  system. 

"We're  going  a  bit  faster !"  called  Mr.  Damoni 
encouragingly,  "or  else  they're  slacking  up." 

Tom  peered  ahead  to  see  if  this  was  so.  It  was 
hard  to  judge  whether  he  was  overhauling  the 
'Arrow,  as  it  was  a  stern  chase,  and  that  is  always 


THE  PURSUIT  155 

difficult  to  judge.  But  a  glimpse  along  shore 
showed  him  that  they  were  slipping  through  the 
water  at  a  faster  speed. 

"They're  up  to  something !"  suddenly  exclaimed 
Mr.  Damon  a  moment  later.  "I  believe  they're 
going  to  fire  on  us,  Tom.  They  are  pointing 
something  this  way." 

The  lad  stood  up  and  gazed  earnestly  at  his 
boat,  which  seemed  to  be  slipping  away  from  him 
so  fast.  One  of  the  occupants  was  in  the  stern, 
aiming  some  glittering  object  at  those  in  the  Red 
Streak.  For  a  moment  Tom  thought  it  might  be 
a  gun.  Then,  as  the  man  turned,  he  saw  what 
it  was. 

"A  pair  of  marine  glasses !"  cried  the  lad. 
'They're  trying  to  make  out  who  we  are." 

"I  guess  they  know  well  enough,"  rejoined  Mr. 
Damon.  "Can't  you  go  any  faster,  Tom?" 

"I'm  afraid  not.  But  we'll  land  them,  sooner 
r>r  later.  They  can't  go  very  far  in  this  direction 
without  running  ashore  and  we'll  have  them. 
They're  cutting  across  the  lake  now." 

"They  may  escape  us  if  it  gets  dark.  Probably 
that's  what  they're  working  for.  They  want  to 
keep  ahead  of  us  until  nightfall." 

The  young  inventor  thought  of  this  too,  but 
there  was  little  he  could  do.  The  motor  was  run- 
ning at  top  speed.  It  could  be  made  to  go  faster, 


156      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Tom  knew,  with  another  ignition  system,  but  that 
was  out  of  the  question  now. 

The  man  with  the  glasses  had  resumed  his  seat, 
and  the  efforts  of  the  trio  seemed  concentrated  on 
the  motor  of  the  Arrow.  They,  too,  wished  to  go 
faster.  But  they  had  not  skill  enough  to  accom- 
plish it,  and  in  about  ten  minutes,  when  Tom  took 
another  long  and  careful  look  to  ascertain  if  pos- 
sible whether  or  not  he  was  overhauling  the 
thieves,  he  was  delighted  to  see  that  the  distance 
between  the  boats  had  lessened. 

"We're  catching  them !  We're  creeping  up  on 
them !"  cried  Mr.  Damon.  "Keep  it  up,  Tom." 

There  was  nothing  to  do,  however,  save  wait. 
The  boat  ahead  had  shifted  her  course  somewhat 
and  was  now  turning  in  toward  the  shore,  for  the 
lake  was  narrow  at  this  point,  and  abandoning 
their  evident  intention  of  keeping  straight  up  the 
lake,  the  thieves  seemed  no  bent  on  something 
else. 

"I  believe  they're  going  to  run  ashore  and  get 
out!"  cried  Mr.  Damon. 

"If  they  do,  it's  just  what  I  want,"  declared  the 
lad.  "I  don't  care  for  the  men.  I  want  my  boat 
back!" 

The  occupants  of  the  Arrow  were  looking  to 
the  rear  again,  and  one — Happy  Harry,  Tom 
thought — shook  his  fist 


THE  PURSUIT  157 

"Ah,  wait  until  I  get  hold  of  you !"  cried  Mr. 
Damon,  following  his  example.  "I'll  make  you 
wish  you'd  behaved  yourselves,  you  scoundrels! 
Bless  my  overcoat !  Catch  them  if  you  can,  Tom." 

There  was  now  no  doubt  of  the  intention  of  the 
fleeing  ones.  The  shore  was  looming  up  ahead 
and  straight  for  it  was  headed  the  Arrow.  Tom 
sent  Andy's  boat  in  the  same  direction.  He  was 
rapidly  overhauling  the  escaping  ones  now,  for 
they  had  slowed  down  the  motor.  Three  minutes 
later  the  foremost  boat  grated  on  the  beach  of  the 
lake.  The  men  leaped  out,  one  of  them  pausing 
an  instant  in  the  bow. 

"Here,  don't  you  damage  my  boat !"  cried  Tom 
involuntarily,  for  the  man  seemed  to  be  hammer- 
f-ng  something. 

The  fellow  leaped  over  the  side,  holding  some- 
thing in  his  hand. 

"There  they  go!  Catch  them!"  yelled  Mr. 
Damon. 

"Let  them  go!"  answered  the  lad  as  the  men 
ran  toward  the  wood.  "I  want  my  boat.  I'm 
afraid  they've  damaged  her.  One  of  them  tore 
something  from  the  bow." 

At  the  same  instant  the  two  companions  of  the 
fellow  who  had  paused  in  the  forward  part  of  the 
Arrow  saw  that  he  had  something  in  his  hand. 
With  yells  of  rage  they  dashed  at  him,  but  he^ 


158      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

shaking  his  fist  at  them,  plunged  into  the  bushes 
and  could  be  heard  breaking  his  way  through, 
while  his  companions  were  in  pursuit. 

"They've  quarreled  among  themselves,"  com- 
mented Mr.  Damon  as  high  and  angry  voices 
could  be  heard  from  the  woods.  "There's  some 
mystery  here,  Tom." 

"I  don't  doubt  it,  but  my  first  concern  is  for 
my  boat.  I  want  to  see  if  they  have  damaged 
her." 

Tom  had  run  so  closely  in  shore  with  the  Red 
Streak  that  he  had  to  reverse  to  avoid  damaging 
the  craft  against  the  bank.  In  a  mass  of  foam  he 
stopped  her  in  time,  and  then  springing  ashore, 
he  hurried  to  his  motor-boat. 


CHAPTER  XIX 

A  QUIET  CRUISE 

"HAVE  they  done  any  damage?"  asked  Mr. 
Damon  as  he  stood  in  the  bow  of  the  Red  Streak. 

Tom  did  not  answer  for  a  moment.  His  trained 
eye  was  looking  over  the  engine. 

"They  yanked  out  the  high  tension  wire  in- 
stead of  stopping  the  motor  with  the  switch/'  he 
answered  at  length,  and  then,  when  he  had  taken 
a  look  into  the  compartment  where  the  gasoline 
tank  was,  he  added :  "And  they've  ripped  out  two 
more  of  the  braces  I  put  in.  Why  in  the  world 
they  did  that  I  can't  imagine/' 

"That's  evidently  what  one  man  had  that  the 
others  wanted/'  was  Mr.  Damon's  opinion. 

"Probably,"  agreed  Tom.  "But  what  could  he 
or  they  want  with  wooden  braces  ?" 

That  was  a  puzzler  for  Mr.  Damon,  but  he  an-v' 
swered : 

"Perhaps  they  wanted  to  damage  your  boat  and 
those  two  men  were  mad  because  the  other  got 
ahead  of  them." 

159 


160      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

'Taking  out  the  braces  wouldn't  do  much  dam- 
age. I  can  easily  put  others  in.  All  it  would  do 
would  be  to  cause  the  tank  to  sag  down  and  maybe 
cause  a  leak  in  the  pipe.  But  that  would  be  a 
queer  thing  to  do.  No,  I  think  there's  some  mys- 
tery that  I  haven't  gotten  to  the  bottom  of  yet. 
But  I'm  going  to." 

"Good!"  exclaimed  Mr.  Damon.  "I'll  help 
you.  But  can  you  run  your  boat  back  home  ?" 

"Not  without  fixing  it  a  bit.  I  must  brace  up 
that  tank  and  put  in  a  new  high  tension  wire  from 
the  spark  coil.  I  can  do  it  here,  but  I'd  rather 
take  it  to  the  shop.  Besides,  with  two  boats  to 
run  back,  for  I  must  return  Andy's  to  him,  I  don't 
see  how  I  can  do  it  very  well  unless  you  operate 
one,  Mr.  Damon." 

"Excuse  me,  but  I  can't  do  it.  Bless  my  slip- 
pers, but  I  would  be  sure  to  run  on  a  rock !  The 
best  plan  will  be  for  you  to  tow  your  boat  and 
I'll  ride  in  it  and  steer.  I  can  do  that  much,  any- 
how. You  can  ride  in  the  Red  Streak. 

Tom  agreed  that  this  would  be  a  good  plan. 
So,  after  temporarily  bracing  up  the  tank  in  the 
Arrow,  it  was  shoved  out  into  the  lake  and  at- 
tached to  Andy's  craft. 

"But  aren't  you  going  to  make  a  search  for 
those  men?"  asked  Mr.  Damon  when  Tom  was 
ready  to  start  back. 


A  QUIET  CRUISE  161 

"No,  I  think  it  would  be  useless.  They  are 
well  away  by  this  time,  and  I  don't  fancy  chasing 
them  through  the  woods,  especially  as  night  is 
coming  on.  Besides,  I  won't  leave  these  boats." 

"No  doubt  you  are  right,  but  I  would  like  to 
see  them  punished,  and  I  am  curious  enough  to 
wish  to  know  what  object  that  scoundrel  could 
have  in  ripping  out  the  blocks  that  served  as  a 
brace  for  the  tank." 

"I  feel  the  same  way  myself,"  commented  the 
lad,  "especially  since  this  is  the  second  time  that's 
happened.  But  we'll  have  a  wait,  I  guess." 

A  little  later  the  start  back  was  made,  Mr. 
Damon  steering  the  Arrow  skilfully  enough  so 
that  it  did  not  drag  on  the  leading  boat,  in  which 
Tom  rode.  His  course  took  him  not  far  from  the 
lake  sanitarium,  where  Mr.  Duncan,  the  hunter, 
had  been  brought,  and  desiring  to  know  how  the 
wounded  man  was  getting  on,  the  youth  proposed 
that  they  make  a  halt,  explaining  to  Mr.  Damon 
his  reason. 

"Yes,  and  while  you're  about  it  you'd  better 
telephone  your  father  that  you  will  join  him  to- 
morrow," suggested  the  other.  "I  know  what  it 
is  to  fret  and  worry.  You  can  fix  your  boat  up  in 
time  to  go  to  Sandport  to-morrow,  can't  you  ?" 

"Yes,  I'm  glad  you  reminded  me  of  it.  I'll  tele- 
phone from  the  sanitarium,  if  they'll  let  me." 


162      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Mr.  Duncan  was  not  at  the  institution,  Tom 
was  told,  his  injury  having  healed  sufficiently  to 
allow  of  his  being  removed  to  his  home.  The 
youth  readily  secured  permission  to  use  the  tele- 
phone, and  was  soon  in  communication  with  Mr. 
Swift.  While  not  telling  him  all  the  occurrences 
that  had  delayed  him,  Tom  gave  his  father  and 
Ned  Newton  enough  information  to  explain  his 
absence.  Then  the  trip  to  Shopton  was  resumed 
in  the  two  boats. 

"What  are  you  going  to  do  about  your  automo- 
bile?" asked  Tom  as  they  neared  the  point  where 
the  machine  had  been  left. 

"Never  mind  about  that,"  replied  Mr.  Damon. 
"It  will  do  it  good  to  have  a  night's  vacation.  I 
will  go  on  to  your  house  with  you,  and  perhaps  I 
can  get  a  train  back  to  my  friend's  home,  so  that 
I  can  claim  my  car." 

"Won't  you  stay  all  night  with  me?"  invited 
the  young  inventor.  "I'd  be  glad  to  have  you." 

Mr.  Damon  agreed,  and,  Tom  putting  more 
speed  on  the  Red  Streak,  was  soon  opposite  his 
own  dock.  The  Arrow  was  run  in  the  boathouse 
and  the  owner  hastily  told  Mrs.  Baggert  and  the 
engineer  what  had  occurred.  Then  he  took  Andy's 
boat  to  Mr.  Foger's  dock  and  warmly  thanked  the 
red-haired  lad  for  the  use  of  his  craft. 


A  QUIET  CRUISE  163 

"Did  you  find  your  boat?"  asked  Andy  eagerly. 
"How  did  the  Red  Streak  run?" 

"I  got  my  boat  and  yours  run  fine,"  explained 
Tom. 

"Good !  I'll  race  you  again  some  day,"  declared 
Andy. 

Mr.  Damon  enjoyed  his  visit  at  our  hero's 
house,  for  Mrs.  Baggert  cooked  one  of  her  best 
suppers  for  him.  Tom  and  the  engineer  spent 
the  evening  repairing  the  motor-boat,  Mr.  Damon 
looking  on  and  exclaiming  "Bless  my  shoe 
leather"  or  some  other  part  of  his  dress  or  an- 
atomy at  every  stage  of  the  work.  The  engineer 
wanted  to  know  all  about  the  men  and  their 
doings,  but  he  could  supply  no  reason  for  their 
queer  actions  regarding  the  braces  under  the  gaso- 
line tank. 

In  the  morning  Tom  once  more  prepared  for  an 
early  start  for  Sandport,  and  Mr.  Damon,  recon- 
sidering his  plans,  rode  as  far  with  him  as  the 
place  where  the  automobile  had  been  left.  There 
he  took  leave  of  the  young  inventor,  promising  to 
call  on  Mr.  Swift  in  the  near  future. 

"I  hope  you  arrive  at  the  hotel  where  your 
father  is  without  any  more  accidents,"  remarked 
the  automobilist  "Bless  my  very  existence,  but 
you  seem  to  have  the  most  remarkable  series  of 
adventures  I  ever  heard  of  I" 


164      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

'They  are  rather  odd,"  admitted  Tom.  "I 
don't  know  that  I  particularly  care  for  them, 
either.  But,  now  that  I  have  my  boat  back,  I 
guess  everything  will  be  all  right." 

But  Tom  could  not  look  ahead.  He  was 
destined  to  have  still  more  exciting  times,  as  pres- 
ently will  be  related. 

Without  further  incident  he  arrived  at  the  Lake- 
view  Hotel  in  Sandport  that  evening  and  found 
his  father  and  Ned  very  glad  to  see  him.  Of 
course  he  had  to  explain  everything  then,  and, 
with  his  son  safely  in  his  sight,  Mr.  Swift  was  not 
so  nervous  over  the  recital  as  he  would  have  been 
had  Tom  not  been  present. 

"Now  for  some  nice,  quiet  trips,"  remarked  the 
lad  when  he  had  finished  his  account  "I  feel  as 
if  I  had  cheated  you  out  of  part  of  your  vacation, 
Ned,  staying  away  as  long  a*s  I  did." 

"Well,  of  course  we  missed  you,"  answered  his 
chum.  "But  your  father  and  I  had  a  good  time." 

"Yes,  and  I  invented  a  new  attachment  for  a 
kitchen  boiler,"  added  Mr.  Swift.  "I  had  a 
chance  for  it  when  I  passed  through  the  hotel 
kitchen  one  day,  for  I  wanted  to  see  what  kind  of 
a  range  they  used." 

"I  guess  there's  no  stopping  you  from  invent- 
ing," replied  his  son  with  a  laugh  and  a  hopeless 


A  QUIET  CRUISE  165 

shake  of  the  head.  "But  don't  let  it  happen  again 
when  you  go  away  to  rest." 

"Oh,  I  only  just  thought  of  it,"  said  Mr.  Swift 
"I  haven't  worked  the  details  out  yet." 

Then  he  wanted  to  know  about  everything  at 
home  and  he  seemed  particularly  anxious  lest  the 
Happy  Harry  gang  do  some  damage. 

"I  don't  believe  they  will,"  Tom  assured  him. 
"Garret  and  Mrs.  Baggert  will  be  on  guard." 

The  next  few  days  were  pleasant  ones  for  Tom, 
his  father  and  Ned  Newton.  They  cruised  about 
the  lake,  went  fishing  and  camped  in  the  woods. 
Even  Mr.  Swift  spent  one  night  in  the  tent  and 
said  he  liked  it  very  much.  For  a  week  the  three 
led  an  ideal  existence,  doing  about  as  they  pleased, 
Ned  taking  a  number  of  photographs  with  his  new 
camera.  The  Arrow  proved  herself  a  fine  boat, 
and  Tom  and  Ned,  when  Mr.  Swift  did  not  ac- 
company them,  explored  the  seldom  visited  parts 
of  Lake  Carlopa. 

The  three  had  been  out  one  day  and  were  dis- 
cussing the  necessity  of  returning  home  soon  when 
Ned  spoke. 

"I  shall  hate  to  give  up  this  life  and  go  to  slav- 
ing in  the  bank  again,"  he  complained.  "I  wish 
I  was  an  inventor." 

"Oh,  we  inventors  don't  have  such  an  easy 
time,"  said  Mr.  Swift.  "You  never  know  when 


166      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

trouble  is  coming,"  and  he  little  imagined  how 
near  the  truth  he  was. 

A  little  later  they  were  at  the  hotel  dock.  When 
Tom  had  tied  up  his  boat  the  three  walked  up  the 
path  to  the  broad  veranda  that  faced  the  lake.  A 
boy  in  uniform  met  them. 

"Some  one  has  just  called  you  on  the  telephone, 
Mr.  Swift,"  he  reported. 

"Some  one  wants  me  ?    Who  is  it  ?" 

"I  think  he  said  his  name  is  Jackson,  sir,  Garret 
Jackson,  and  he  says  the  message  is  very  impor- 
tant." 

"Tom,  something  has  happened  at  home!"  ex- 
claimed the  inventor  as  he  hurried  up  the  steps. 
"I'm  afraid  there's  bad  news." 

Unable  to  still  the  fear  in  his  heart,  Tom  fol- 
lowed his  father. 


CHAPTER  XX 

NEWS  OF  A  ROBBERY 

WITH  a  hand  that  trembled  so  he  could  scarcely 
hold  the  receiver  of  the  telephone,  Mr.  Swift 
placed  it  to  his  ear. 

"Hello!  hello!"  he  cried  into  the  transmitter. 
"Yes,  this  is  Mr.  Swift— yes,  Garret.  What 
is  it?" 

Then  came  a  series  of  clicks,  which  Tom  and 
Ned  listened  to.  The  inventor  spoke  again. 

"What's  that !  The  same  men  ?  Broke  in  early 
this  evening?  Oh,  that's  too  bad!  Of  course, 
I'll  come  at  once." 

There  followed  more  meaningless  clicks,  which 
Tom  wished  he  could  translate.  His  father  hung 
up  the  receiver,  turned  to  him  and  exclaimed : 

"I've  been  robbed  again  1" 

"Robbed  again!    How,  dad?" 

"By  that  same  rascally  gang,  Garret  thinks. 
.This  evening,  when  he  and  Mrs.  Baggert  were  id 
Hie  house  the  burglar  alarm  went  off.  The  indi~ 

167 


168      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

cator  showed  that  the  electrical  shop  had  been  en- 
tered, and  the  engineer  hurried  there.  He  saw  a 
light  inside  and  the  shadows  of  persons  on  the 
windows.  Before  he  could  reach  the  shop,  how- 
ever, the  thieves  heard  him  coming  and  escaped/ 
Oh,  Tom,  I  should  never  have  come  away !" 

"But  did  they  take  anything,  dad?  Perhaps 
Garret  frightened  them  away  before  they  had  a 
chance  to  steal  any  of  your  things.  Did  you  ask 
him  that?" 

"I  didn't  need  to.  He  said  he  made  a  hasty  ex- 
amination before  he  called  me  up,  and  he  is  sure  a 
number  of  my  electrical  inventions  are  missing. 
Some  of  them  are  devices  I  never  have  had  pat- 
ented, and  if  I  lose  them  I  will  have  no  recovery." 

"But  just  what  ones  are  they?  Perhaps  we 
can  send  out  a  police  alarm  to-night." 

"Garret  couldn't  tell  that,"  answered  Mr.  Swift 
as  he  paced  to  and  fro  in  the  hotel  office.  "He 
doesn't  know  all  the  tools  and  machinery  I  had 
in  there.  But  it  is  certain  that  some  of  my 
most  valuable  things  have  been  taken." 

"Never  mind.  Don't  worry,  dad,"  and  Tom 
tried  to  speak  soothingly,  for  he  saw  that  his 
father  was  much  excited.  "We  may  be  able  to  get 
them  back.  How  does  Garret  know  the  same  men 
who  stole  the  turbine  model  broke  in  the  shop  this 
evening  ?" 


NEWS  OF  A  ROBBERY  169 

"He  saw  them.  One  was  Happy  Harry,  he  is 
positive.  The  others  he  did  not  know,  but  he 
recognized  the  tramp  from  our  description  of 
him." 

"Then  we  must  tell  the  police  at  once." 

"Yes,  Tom,  I  wish  you  would  telephone.  I'll 
give  you  a  description  of  the  things.  No,  I  can't 
do  that  either,  for  I  don't  know  what  was  stolen. 
I  must  go  home  at  once  to  find  out.  It's  a  good 
thing  the  motor-boat  is  here.  Come,  let's  start  at 
once.  What  is  my  bill  here?"  and  the  inventor 
turned  to  the  hotel  proprietor,  who  had  come  into 
the  office.  "I  have  suffered  a  severe  loss  and  must 
leave  at  once." 

"I  am  very  sorry,  sir.  I'll  have  it  ready  for  you 
m  a  few  minutes." 

"All  right.  Tom,  is  you  boat  ready  for  a  quick 
irip?" 

"Yes,  dad,  but  I  don't  like  to  make  it  at  night 
with  three  in.  Of  course  it  might  be  perfectly 
safe,  but  there's  a  risk,  and  I  don't  like  to  take  it." 

"Don't  worry  about  the  risk  on  my  account, 
Tom.  I'm  not  afraid.  I  must  get  home  and  see 
of  what  I  have  been  robbed." 

The  young  inventor  was  in  a  quandary.  He 
wanted  to  do  as  his  father  requested  and  to  aid 
him  all  he  could,  yet  he  knew  that  an  all-night 
trip  in  the  boat  down  the  lake  would  be  dangerous, 


170      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

not  only  from  the  chance  of  running  on  an  un- 
known shore  or  into  a  hidden  rock,  but  because 
Mr.  Swift  was  not  physically  fitted  to  stand  the 
journey. 

"Come,  Tom,"  exclaimed  the  aged  inventor  im- 
patiently, "we  must  start  at  once !" 

"Won't  morning  do  as  well,  dad?" 

"No,  I  must  start  now.  I  could  not  sleep 
worrying  over  what  has  happened.  We  will 
start " 

At  that  instant  there  came  a  low,  rumbling  peat 
of  thunder.  Mr.  Swift  started  and  peered  from  a 
window.  There  came  a  flash  of  lightning  and 
another  vibrant  report  from  the  storm-charged 
clouds. 

"There  is  your  bill,  Mr.  Swift,"  remarked  the 
proprietor,  coming  up,  "but  I  would  not  advise 
you  to  start  to-night.  There  is  a  bad  storm  in 
the  west,  and  it  will  reach  here  in  a  few  minutes. 
Storms  on  Lake  Carlopa,  especially  at  this  open 
and  exposed  end,  are  not  to  be  despised,  I  assure 
you." 

"But  I  must  get  home !"  insisted  Tom's  father. 

The  lace  curtain  over  the  window  blew  almost 
straight  out  with  a  sudden  breeze,  and  a  flash  of 
lightning  so  bright  that  it  reflected  even  in  the 
room  where  the  incandescent  electrics  were  glow- 
ing made  several  others  jump.  Then  came  a 


NEWS  OF  A  ROBBERY  171 

mighty  crash,  and  with  that  the  flood-gates  of  the 
storm  were  opened,  and  the  rain  came  down  in 
torrents.  Tom  actually  breathed  a  sigh  of  relief. 
The  problem  was  solved  for  him.  It  would  be  im- 
possible to  start  to-night,  and  he  was  glad  of  it, 
much  as  he  wanted  to  get  on  the  trail  of  the 
thieves. 

There  was  a  scurrying  on  the  part  of  the  hotel 
attendants  to  close  the  windows,  and  the  guests 
who  had  been  enjoying  the  air  out  on  the  porches 
came  running  in.  With  a  rush,  a  roar  and  a  mut- 
tering, as  peal  after  peal  of  thunder  sounded,  the 
deluge  continued. 

"It's  a  good  thing  we  didn't  start,"  observed 
Ned. 

"I  should  say  so/'  agreed  Tom.  "But  we'll 
get  off  the  first  thing  in  the  morning,  dad." 

Mr.  Swift  did  not  reply,  but  his  nervous  pacing 
to  and  fro  in  the  hotel  office  showed  how  anxious 
he  was  to  be  at  home  again.  There  was  no  help 
for  it,  however,  and,  after  a  time,  finding  that  to 
think  of  reaching  his  house  that  night  was  out  of 
the  question,  the  inventor  calmed  down  somewhat 

The  storm  continued  nearly  all  night,  as  Tom 
could  bear  witness,  for  he  did  not  sleep  well,  nor 
did  his  father.  And  when  he  came  down  to  break- 
fast in  the  morning  Mr.  Swift  plainly  showed  the 
effects  of  the  bad  news.  His  face  was  haggard 


172      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

and  drawn  and  his  eyes  smarted  and  burned  from 
lack  of  sleep. 

"Well,  Tom,  we  must  start  early,"  he  said  ner- 
vously. "I  am  glad  it  has  cleared  off.  Is  the 
boat  all  ready?" 

"Yes,  and  it's  a  good  thing  it  was  under  sheltei 
last  night  or  we'd  have  to  bail  it  out  now,  and  that 
would  delay  us." 

An  hour  later  they  were  under  way,  having  tele- 
phoned to  the  engineer  at  the  Swift  home  that 
they  were  coming.  Garret  Jackson  reported  over 
the  wire  that  he  had  notified  the  Shopton  police  of 
the  robbery,  but  that  little  could  be  done  until  the 
inventor  arrived  to  give  a  description  of  the  stolen 
articles. 

"And  that  will  do  little  good,  I  fear,"  remarked 
Tom.  "Those  fellows  have  evidently  been  plan- 
ning this  for  some  time  and  will  cover  their  tracks 
well.  I'd  like  to  catch  them,  not  only  to  recover 
your  things,  dad,  but  to  find  out  the  mystery  of 
my  boat  and  why  the  man  took  the  tank  braces." 


CHAPTER  XXI 

THE  BALLOON  ON  FIRE 

DOWN  Lake  Carlopa  speeded  the  Arrow,  those 
on  board  watching  the  banks  slip  past  as  the 
motor-boat  rapidly  cut  through  the  water. 

"What  time  do  you  think  we  ought  to  reach 
home,  Tom?'  'asked  Mr.  Swift. 

"Oh,  about  four  o'clock,  if  we  don't  stop  for 
lunch." 

"Then  we'll  not  stop,"  decided  the  inventor. 
"We'll  eat  what  we  have  on  board.  I  suppose  you 
have  some  rations  ?"  and  he  smiled,  the  first  time 
since  hearing  the  bad  news. 

"Oh,  yes,  Ned  and  I  didn't  eat  everything  on 
our  camping  trips,"  and  Tom  was  glad  to  note 
that  the  fine  weather  which  followed  the  storm 
was  having  a  good  effect  on  his  father. 

"We  certainly  had  a  good  time,"  remarked 
Ned.  "I  don't  know  when  I've  enjoyed  a  vaca- 
tion so." 

"It's  too  bad  it  had  to  be  cut  short  by  this  rot>- 
bery,"  commented  Mr.  Swift 

173 


174      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Oh,  well,  my  time  would  be  up  in  a  few  days 
more,"  went  on  the  young  bank  employe.  "It's 
just  as  well  to  start  back  now." 

Tom  took  the  shortest  route  he  knew,  keeping 
in  as  close  to  shore  as  he  dared,  for  now  he  was 
as  anxious  to  get  home  as  was  his  father.  On  and 
on  speeded  the  Arrow,  yet  fast  as  it  was,  it  seemed 
slow  to  Mr.  Swift,  who,  like  all  nervous  persons, 
always  wanted  to  go  wherever  he  desired  to  go 
instantly. 

Tom  headed  his  boat  around  a  little  point  of 
land,  and  was  urging  the  engine  to  the  top  notch 
of  speed,  for  now  he  was  on  a  clear  course,  with 
no  danger  from  shoals  or  hidden  rocks,  when  he 
saw,  darting  out  from  shore,  a  tiny  craft  which 
somehow  seemed  familiar  to  him.  He  recognized 
a  peculiar  put-putter  of  the  motor. 

"That's  the  Dot,"  he  remarked  in  a  low  voice  to 
Ned,  "Miss  Nestor's  cousin's  boat" 

"Is  she  in  it  now?"  asked  Ned. 

"Yes,"  answered  Torn  quickly. 

"You've  got  good  eyesight,"  remarked  Ned 
dryly,  "to  tell  a  girl  at  that  distance.  It  looks  to 
me  like  a  boy." 

"No,  it's  Mary — I  mean  Miss  Nestor,"  the 
youth  quickly  corrected  himself,  and  a  close  ob- 
server would  have  noticed  that  he  blushed  a  bit 
tinder  his  coat  of  tan. 


THE  BALLOON  ON  FIRE  175 

Ned  laughed,  Tom  blushed  still  more,  and  Mr. 
Swift,  who  was  in  a  stern  seat,  glanced  up  quickly. 

"It  looks  as  if  that  boat  wanted  to  hail  us,"  the 
inventor  remarked. 

Tom  was  thinking  the  same  thing,  for,  though 
he  had  changed  his  course  slightly  since  sighting 
the  Doty  the  little  craft  was  put  over  so  as  to  meet 
him.  Wondering  what  Miss  Nestor  could  want, 
but  being  only  too  willing  to  have  a  chat  with  her, 
the  young  inventor  shifted  his  helm.  In  a  short 
time  the  two  craft  were  within  hailing  distance. 

"How  do  you  do?"  called  Miss  Nestor,  as  she 
slowed  down  her  motor.  "Don't  you  think  I'm 
improving,  Mr.  Swift?" 

"What's  that?  I — er — I  beg  your  pardon,  but 
I  didn't  catch  that,"  exclaimed  the  aged  inventor 
quickly,  coming  out  of  a  sort  of  day-dream.  "I 
beg  your  pardon."  He  thought  she  had  addressed 
him. 

Miss  Nestor  blushed  and  looked  questioningly 
at  Tom. 

"My  father,"  he  explained  as  he  introduced  his 
parent.  Ned  needed  none,  having  met  Miss  Nes- 
tor before.  "Indeed  you  have  improved  very 
much,"  went  on  our  hero.  "You  seem  able  to 
manage  the  boat  all  alone." 

"Yes,  I'm  doing  pretty  well.  Dick  lets  me  take 
the  Dot  whenever  I  want  to,  and  I  thought  I'd 


176      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

come  out  for  a  little  trial  run  this  morning1.  I'm 
getting  ready  for  the  races.  I  suppose  you  are 
going  to  enter  them?"  and  she  steered  her  boat 
ilongside  Tom's,  who  throttled  down  his  power- 
ful motor  so  as  not  to  pass  his  friend. 

"Races?    I  hadn't  heard  of  them,"  he  replied. 

"Oh,  indeed  there  are  to  be  fine  ones  under  the 
auspices  of  the  Lanton  Motor  Club.  Mr.  Hast- 
ings, of  whom  you  bought  that  boat,  is  going  to 
enter  his  new  Carlopa,  and  Dick  has  entered  the 
Dot,  in  the  baby  class  of  course.  But  I'm  going 
to  run  it,  and  that's  why  I'm  practicing." 

"I  hope  you  win,"  remarked  Tom.  "I  hadn't 
heard  of  the  races,  but  I  think  I'll  enter.  I'm  glad 
you  told  me.  Do  you  want  to  race  now  ?"  and  he 
laughed  as  he  looked  into  the  brown  eyes  of  Mary 
Nestor. 

"No,  indeed,  unless  you  give  me  a  start  of  sev- 
eral miles." 

They  kept  together  for  some  little  time  longer, 
and  then,  as  Tom  knew  his  father  would  be  rest- 
less at  the  slow  speed,  he  told  Miss  Nestor  the 
need  of  haste,  and,  advancing  his  timer,  he  soon 
left  the  Dot  behind.  The  girl  called  a  laughing 
good-by  and  urged  him  not  to  forget  the  races, 
which  were  to  take  place  in  about  two  weeks. 

"I  suppose  Andy  Foger  will  enter  his  boat," 
commented  Ned. 


THE  BALLOON  ON  FIRE  177 

"Naturally,"  agreed  Tom.  "It's  a  racer,  and 
he'll  probably  think  it  can  beat  anything  on  the 
lake.  But  if  he  doesn't  manage  his  motor  differ- 
ently, it  won't." 

The  distance  from  Sandport  to  Shopton  had 
been  more  than  half  covered  at  noon,  when  the 
travelers  ate  a  lunch  in  the  boat.  Mr.  Swift  was 
looking  anxiously  ahead  to  catch  the  first  glimpse 
of  his  dock  and  Tom  was  adjusting  the  machinery 
as  finely  as  he  dared  to  get  out  of  it  the  maximum 
speed. 

Ned  Newton,  who  happened  to  be  gazing  aloft, 
wondering  at  the  perfect  beauty  of  the  blue  sky 
after  the  storm,  uttered  a  sudden  exclamation. 
Then  he  arose  and  pointed  at  some  object  in  the 
air. 

"Look!"  he  cried,  "a  balloon!  It  must  have 
gone  up  from  some  fair." 

Tom  and  his  father  looked  upward.  High  in 
the  air,  almost  over  their  heads,  was  an  immense 
balloon.  It  was  of  the  hot-air  variety,  such  as  per- 
formers use  in  which  to  make  ascensions  from  fair 
grounds  and  circuses,  and  below  it  dangled  a 
trapeze,  upon  which  could  be  observed  a  man,  only 
he  looked  more  like  a  doll  than  a  human  being. 

"I  shouldn't  like  to  be  as  high  as  that,"  re- 
marked Ned. 

"I  would,"  answered  Tom  as  he  slowed  down 


178      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

the  engine  the  better  to  watch  the  balloon.  "I'd 
like  to  go  up  in  an  airship,  and  I  intend  to  some 
day." 

"I  believe  he's  going  to  jump!"  suddenly  ex- 
Maimed  Ned  after  a  few  minutes.  "He's  going  to 
do  something,  anyhow." 

"Probably  come  down  in  a  parachute,"  said 
Tom.  "They  generally  do  that." 

"No!  no!"  cried  Ned.  "He  isn't  going  to 
jump.  Something  has  happened !  The  balloon  is 
on  fire !  He'll  be  burned  to  death !" 

Horror  stricken,  they  all  gazed  aloft.  From  the 
mouth  of  the  balloon  there  shot  a  tongue  of  fire, 
and  it  was  followed  by  a  cloud  of  black  smoke. 
The  big  bag  was  getting  smaller  and  seemed  to  be 
descending,  while  the  man  on  the  trapeze  was 
hanging  downward  by  his  hands  to  get  as  far  as 
possible  away  from  the  terrible  heat. 


CHAPTER  XXII 

THE  RESCUE 

"JUMP  !  jump !"  cried  Mr.  Swift,  leaping  to  his 
feet  and  motioning  to  the  man  on  the  trapeze  of 
the  balloon.  But  it  is  doubtful  whether  or  not  the 
performer  heard  him.  Certainly  he  could  not  set 
the  frantic  motions  of  the  inventor.  "Why 
doesn't  he  jump  ?"  Mr.  Swift  went  on  piteously  to 
the  two  lads.  "He'll  surely  be  burned  to  death  if 
he  hangs  on  there !" 

"It's  too  far  to  leap !"  exclaimed  Tom.  "He's  a 
good  way  up  in  the  air,  though  it  looks  like  only  a 
short  distance.  He  would  be  killed  if  he  dropped 
now." 

"He  ought  to  have  a  parachute,"  added  Ned. 
"Most  of  those  men  do  when  they  go  up  in  a  bal- 
loon. Why  doesn't  he  come  down  in  that?  I 
wonder  how  the  balloon  took  fire?" 

"Maybe  he  hasn't  a  parachute,"  suggested  Tom, 
while  he  slowed  down  the  motor-boat  still  more 
so  as  to  remain  very  nearly  under  the  blazing 

balloon. 

179 


l8o      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Yes,  he  has!"  cried  Ned.  "See,  it's  hanging 
to  one  side  of  the  big  bag-.  He  ought  to  cut  loose. 
He  could  save  himself  then.  Why  doesn't  he?" 

The  balloon  was  slowly  twisting  about,  gradu- 
ally settling  to  the  surface  of  the  lake,  but  all  the 
while  the  flames  were  becoming  fiercer  and  the 
black  clouds  of  smoke  increased  in  size. 

"There,  see  the  parachute!"  went  on  Ned. 

The  twisting  of  the  bag  had  brought  into  view 
the  parachute  or  big,  umbrella-shaped  bag,  which 
would  have  enabled  the  man  to  safely  drop  to  the 
surface  of  the  lake.  Without  it  he  would  have  hit 
the  water  with  such  force  that  he  would  have  been 
killed  as  surely  as  if  he  had  struck  the  solid  earth. 
But  the  boys  and  Mr.  Swift  also  saw  something 
else,  and  this  was  that  the  balloon  was  on  fire  on 
the  same  side  where  the  parachute  was  suspended. 

"Look !  look !"  shouted  Tom,  bringing  his  boat 
to  a  stop.  "That's  why  he  can't  jump !  He  can't 
reach  the  parachute !" 

By  this  time  the  balloon  had  settled  so  low 
that  the  actions  of  the  man  could  be  plainly  seen. 
That  he  was  in  great  agony  of  fear,  as  well  as  in 
great  pain  from  the  terrific  heat  over  his  head  was 
evident.  He  shifted  about  on  the  trapeze  bar,  now 
hanging  by  one  hand,  so  as  to  bring  his  body  a 
little  farther  below  the  blazing  end  of  the  bag, 
then,  when  one  arm  tired,  he  would  hang  by  the 


THE  RESCUE  181 

other.  If  the  balloon  would  only  come  down  more 
quickly  it  would  get  to  within  such  a  short  dis- 
tance of  the  water  that  the  man  could  safely  make 
the  drop. 

But  the  immense  canvas  bag  was  settling  so 
slowly,  for  it  was  still  very  buoyant,  that  consider- 
able time  must  elapse  before  it  would  be  near 
enough  to  the  water  to  make  it  safe  for  the  unfor- 
tunate man  to  let  go  the  trapeze. 

"Oh,  if  we  could  only  do  something !"  cried 
Tom.  "We  have  to  remain  here  helpless  and 
watch  him  burn  to  death.  It's  awful !" 

The  three  in  the  boat  continued  to  gaze  upward. 
They  could  see  the  man  making  frantic  efforts  to 
reach  his  parachute  from  time  to  time.  Once,  as 
a  little  current  of  air  blew  the  flames  and  smoke 
to  one  side,  he  thought  he  had  a  chance.  Up  on 
the  trapeze  bar  he  pulled  himself  and  then  edged 
along  it  in  an  endeavor  to  grasp  the  ring  of  the 
parachute.  Once  he  almost  had  hold  of  that  and 
also  the  cord,  which  ran  to  a  knife  blade.  This 
cord,  being  pulled,  would  sever  the  rope  that 
bound  it  to  the  balloon,  and  he  would  be  compara- 
tively safe,  so  he  might  drop  to  the  lake.  But, 
just  as  he  was  about  to  grasp  the  ring  and  cord, 
the  smoke  came  swirling  down  on  him  and  the 
hungry  flames  seemed  to  put  out  their  fiery 


182      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

tongues  to  devour  him.  He  had  to  slide  back  and 
once  more  hung  by  his  hands. 

"I  thought  he  was  saved  then,"  whispered  Tom, 
and  even  the  whisper  sounded  loud  in  the  silence. 

Several  men  came  running  along  the  shore  of 
the  lake  now.  They  saw  the  occupants  in  the 
Arrow  and  cried  out : 

"Why  don't  you  save  him  ?    Go  to  his  rescue !" 

"What  can  we  do?"  asked  Ned  quietly  of  his 
two  friends,  but  he  did  not  trouble  to  answer  the 
men  on  shore,  who  probably  did  not  know  what 
they  were  saying. 

The  motor-boat  had  drifted  from  a  spot  under 
the  unfortunate  balloonist,  and  at  a  word  from 
his  father  the  young  inventor  started  the  engine 
and  steered  the  craft  back  directly  under  the  blaz- 
ing bag  again. 

"If  he  does  drop,  perhaps  we  may  be  able  to 
pick  him  up,"  said  Mr.  Swift  "I  wish  we  could 
save  him!" 

A  cry  from  Ned  startled  Tom  and  his  father, 
and  their  eyes,  that  had  momentarily  been  directed 
away  from  the  burning  bag  high  in  the  air,  were 
again  turned  toward  it. 

"The  balloon  is  falling  apart !"  exclaimed  Ned* 
"It's  all  up  with  him  now !" 

Indeed  it  did  seem  so,  for  pieces  of  the  burning 
canvas,  blazing  and  smoking,  were  falling  in  a 


THE  RESCUE  183 

shower  from  the  part  of  the  bag  already  con- 
sumed, and  the  fiery  particles  were  fairly  raining 
down  on  the  man.  But  he  still  had  his  wits  about 
him,  though  his  perilous  position  was  enough  to 
make  any  one  lose  his  mind,  and  he  swung  from 
side  to  side  on  the  bar,  shifting  skilfully  with  his 
hands  and  dodging  the  larger  particles  of  blazing 
canvas.  When  some  small  sparks  fell  on  his 
clothing  he  beat  them  out  with  one  hand,  while 
with  the  other  he  clung  to  the  trapeze. 

There  was  scarcely  any  wind  or  the  man's 
plight  might  have  been  more  bearable,  for  the 
current  of  air  would  have  carried  the  smoke  and 
fire  to  one  side.  As  it  was,  most  of  the  smoke  and 
flames  went  straight  up,  save  now  and,then*  when 
a  draught  created  by  the  heat  would  swirl  the 
black  clouds  down  on  the  performer,  hiding  him 
from  sight  for  a  second  or  two.  A  breeze  would 
have  carried  the  sparks  away  instead  of  letting 
them  fall  on  him. 

Nearer  and  nearer  to  the  surface  of  the  lake 
sank  the  balloon.  By  this  time  the  crowd  on  the 
bank  had  increased  and  there  were  excited  opin- 
ions as  to  what  was  best  to  do.  But  the  trouble 
was  that  little  could  be  done.  If  the  man  could 
hold  out  until  he  got  near  enough  to  the  water  to 
let  go  he  might  yet  be  saved,  but  this  would  not 
be  for  some  time  at  the  present  rate  the  balloon 


284      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

was  falling.  The  performer  realized  this,  and,  as 
the  fire  was  getting  hotter,  he  made  another  des- 
perate attempt  to  reach  the  parachute.  It  was 
unavailing  and  he  had  to  drop  back,  hanging 
below  the  slender  bar. 

Suddenly  there  came  a  puff  of  wind,  fanning 
the  faces  of  those  in  the  motor-boat,  and  they 
looked  intently  to  observe  if  there  was  any  current 
as  high  as  was  the  balloonist.  They  saw  the  big 
bag  sway  to  one  side  and  the  flames  broke  out 
more  fiercely  as  they  caught  the  draught  The 
balloon  moved  slowly  down  the  lake. 

"Keep  after  it,  Tom!"  urged  his  father.  "We 
may  be  able  to  save  him !" 

The  lad  increased  the  speed  of  his  engine  and 
Ned,  who  was  at  the  wheel,  gave  it  a  little  twist 

Then,  with  a  suddenness  that  was  startling,  the 
blazing  canvas  airship  began  to  settle  swiftly  to- 
ward the  water.  It  had  lost  much  of  its  buoyancy. 

"Now  he  can  jump !  He's  near  enough  to  tha 
water  now !"  cried  Tom. 

But  a  new  danger  arose.  True,  the  balloon  was 
rapidly  approaching  the  surface  of  the  lake  and 
in  a  few  seconds  more  would  be  within  such  a 
short  distance  that  a  leap  would  not  be  fatal.  But 
the  burning  bag  was  coming  straight  down  and 
scarcely  would  the  man  be  in  the  water  ere  that 
fiery  canvas  mass  would  be  on  top  of  him. 


THE  RESCUE  185 

In  such  an  event  he  would  either  be  burned  to 
death  or  so  held  down  that  drowning  must  quickly 
follow. 

"If  there  was  only  wind  enough  to  carry  the 
balloon  beyond  him  after  he  jumped  he  could  do 
it  safely!"  cried  Ned. 

Tom  said  nothing.  He  was  measuring,  with 
his  eye,  the  distance  the  balloon  had  yet  to  go  and 
also  the  distance  away  the  motor-boat  was  from 
where  it  would  probably  land. 

"He  can  do  it !"  exclaimed  the  young  inventor. 

"How?"  asked  his  father. 

For  answer  Tom  caught  up  a  newspaper  he 
had  purchased  at  the  hotel  that  morning.  Rolling 
it  quickly  into  a  cone,  so  that  it  formed  a  rough 
megaphone,  he  put  the  smaller  end  to  his  mouth, 
and,  pointing  the  larger  opening  at  the  balloonist, 
he  called  out : 

"Drop  into  the  lake !  We'll  pick  you  up  before 
the  bag  falls  on  you !  Jump !  Let  go  now !" 

The  balloonist  heard  and  understood.  So  did 
Ned  and  Mr.  Swift.  Tom's  quick  wit  had  found 
a  way  to  save  the  man. 

Faster  and  faster  the  blazing  bag  settled  to- 
ward the  surface  of  the  water.  It  was  now  merely 
a  mushroom-shaped  piece  of  burning  and  smoking 
canvas,  yet  it  was  supporting  the  man  almost  as 
a  parachute  would  have  done. 


186      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

With  one  look  upward  to  the  burning  masa 
above,  him  and  a  glance  downward  to  the  lake,  the 
aeronaut  let  go  his  hold.  Like  a  shot  he  cams 
down,  holding  his  body  rigid  and  straight  as  a 
stick,  for  he  knew  how  to  fall  into  water,  did  thai 
balloonist. 

Tom  Swift  was  ready  for  him.  No  sooner  had 
the  lad  called  his  directions  through  the  mega- 
phone than  the  young  inventor  had  speeded  up  his 
engine  to  the  top  notch. 

"Steer  so  as  to  pick  him  up!"  Tom  cried  to 
Ned,  who  was  at  the  wheel.  "Pass  by  him  on  a 
curve,  and,  as  soon  as  I  grab  him,  put  the  whee) 
over  so  as  to  get  out  from  under  the  balloon." 

It  was  a  risky  thing  to  do,  but  our  hero  had  it 
all  planned  out.  He  made  a  loop  of  the  boat's 
painter,  and,  hurrying  to  the  bow,  leaned  over  as 
far  as  he  could,  holding  the  rope  in  readiness. 
His  idea  was  to  have  the  balloonist  grab  the 
strands  and  be  pulled  out  of  danger  by  the  speedy 
motor-boat,  for  the  blazing  canvas  would  cover 
such  an  extent  of  water  that  the  man  could  not 
have  swum  out  of  the  danger  zone  in  time. 

Down  shot  the  balloonist  and  down  more  slowl> 
settled  the  collapsed  bag,  yet  not  so  slowly  that 
there  was  any  time  to  spare.  It  needed  only  a  few 
seconds  to  drop  over  the  performer,  to  burn  an<j 
smother  him. 


THE  RESCUE  187 

Into  the  water  splashed  the  man,  disappearing 
from  sight  as  when  a  stick  is  dropped  in,  point 
first.  Ned  was  alert  and  steered  the  boat  to  the 
side  in  which  the  man's  face  was,  for  he  concluded 
that  the  aeronaut  would  strike  out  in  that  direc- 
tion when  he  came  up.  The  Arrow  was  now  di- 
rectly under  the  blazing  balloon  and  cries  of  feaf 
from  the  watchers  on  shore  urged  upon  Tom  and 
his  companions  the  danger  of  their  position.  But 
they  had  to  take  some  risk  to  rescue  the  man. 

'There  he  is !"  cried  Mr.  Swift,  who  was  on  the 
watch,  leaning  over  the  side  of  the  boat.  Tom  and 
Ned  saw  him  at  the  same  instant.  Ned  shifted 
his  wheel  and  the  young  inventor  bent  over,  hold- 
ing out  the  rope  for  the  man  to  grasp.  He  saw  it 
and  struck  out  toward  the  Arrow.  But  there  was 
no  need  for  him  to  go  far.  An  instant  more  and 
the  speeding  motor-boat  shot  past  him.  He 
grabbed  the  rope  and  Tom,  aided  by  Mr.  Swift, 
began  to  lift  him  out  of  the  water. 

"Quick !  To  one  side,  Ned !"  yelled  Tom,  for 
the  heat  of  the  descending  mass  of  burning  canvas 
struck  him  like  a  furnace  blast. 

Ned  needed  no  urging.  With  a  swirl  of  the 
screw  the  Arrow  shot  herself  out  of  the  way, 
carrying  the  aeronaut  with  her.  A  moment  later 
the  burning  balloon,  or  what  there  was  left  of  it, 


188      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

settled  down  into  the  lake,  hissing  angrily  as  the 
fire  was  quenched  by  the  water  and  completely 
covering  the  spot  where,  but  a  few  seconds  before, 
the  man  had  been  swimming.  He  had  been  saved 
in  the  nick  of  time. 


CHAPTER  XXIII 

PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP 

"SLOW  her  down,  Ned!"  cried  Tom,  for  the 
Arrow  was  shooting  so  swiftly  through  the  water 
that  the  young  inventor  found  it  impossible  to 
pull  up  the  balloonist.  Ned  hurried  back  to  the 
motor,  and,  when  the  boat's  way  had  been 
checked,  it.was  an  easy  matter  to  pull  the  dripping 
and  almost  exhausted  man  into  the  craft. 

"Are  you  much  hurt?"  asked  Mr.  Swift  anx- 
iously, for  Tom  was  too  much  out  of  breath  with 
his  exertion  to  ask  any  questions.  For  that  matter 
the  man  was  in  almost  as  bad  a  plight.  He  was 
breathing  heavily,  as  one  who  had  run  a  long  race. 

"I— I  guess  I'm  all  right,"  he  panted.  "Only 
burned  a  little  on  my  hands.  That-— that  was  a 
close  call !" 

The  boat  swung  around  and  headed  for  shore, 
on  which  was  quite  a  throng  of  persons.  Some  of 
them  had  cheered  when  they  saw  the  plucky 
rescue. 

"I'm  afraid  we  can't  save  your  balloon,"  gasped 
189 


190      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

Tom  as  he  looked  at  the  place  where  the  canvas 
was  still  floating  and  burning. 

"No  matter.  It  wasn't  worth  much.  That's 
the  last  time  I'll  ever  go  up  in  a  hot-air  balloon," 
said  the  man  with  more  energy  than  he  had  before 
exhibited.  "I'm  done  with  'em.  I've  had  my 
lesson.  Hereafter  an  aeroplane  or  a  gas  balloon 
for  mine.  I  only  did  this  to  oblige  the  fair  com- 
mittee. I'll  not  do  it  again." 

The  man  spoke  in  short,  crisp  sentences,  as 
though  he  was  in  too  much  of  a  hurry  to  waste  his 
words. 

"Let  it  sink,"  he  went  on.  "It's  no  good.  Glad 
to  see  the  last  of  it." 

Almost  as  he  spoke,  with  a  final  hiss  and  a  cloud 
of  steam  that  mingled  with  the  black  smoke,- the 
remains  of  the  big  bag  sunk  beneath  the  surface 
of  the  lake. 

"We  must  get  you  ashore  at  once  and  to  a  doc- 
tor," said  Mr.  Swift.  "You  must  be  badly 
burned." 

"Not  much.  Only  my  hands,  where  some 
turning  pieces  of  canvas  fell  on  'em.  If  I  had  a 
little  oil  to  put  on  I'd  be  all  right." 

"I  can  fix  you  up  better  than  that,"  put  in  Tom. 
"I  have  some  vaseline." 

"Good !  Just  the  thing.  Pass  it  over,"  and  the 
«nan,  though  he  spoke  shortly,  seemed  grateful  fo? 


PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP  191 

the  offer.  "My  name's  Sharp,"  he  went  on,  "John 
Sharp,  of  no  place  in  particular,  for  I  travel  all 
over.  I'm  a  professional  balloonist.  Ha!  that's 
the  stuff!" 

This  last  was  in  reference  to  a  bottle  of  vaseline 
which  Tom  produced.  Mr.  Sharp  spread  some 
over  the  backs  of  his  hands  and  went  on : 

"That's  better.  Much  obliged.  I  can't  begin  to 
thank  you  for  what  you  did  for  me — saved  my 
life.  I  thought  it  was  all  up  with  me — would  have 
been  but  for  you.  Mustn't  mind  my  manner — it's 
a  way  I  have — have  to  talk  quick  when  you're 
balloonin' — no  time — but  I'm  grateful  all  the 
same.  Who  might  you  people  be  ?" 

Tom  told  him  their  names  and  Mr.  Swift  asked 
the  aeronaut  if  he  was  sure  he  didn't  need  the  ser- 
vices of  a  physician. 

"No  doctor  for  me,"  answered  the  balloonist. 
"I've  been  in  lots  of  tight  places,  but  this  was  the 
worst  squeeze.  If  ^ou'll  put  me  ashore,  I  guess  I 
can  manage  now." 

"But  you're  all  wet,"  objected  Tom.  Where 
will  you  go?  You  need  some  other  clothes,"  fofc 
the  man  wore  a  suit  of  tights  and  spangles. 

"Oh,  I'm  used  to  this,"  went  on  the  performer. 
"I  frequently  have  to  fall  in  the  water.  I  always 
carry  a  little  money  with  me  so  as  to  get  back  to 


192     TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

the  place  where  I  started  from.  By  the  way, 
where  am  I  ?" 

"Opposite  Daleton,"  answered  Tom.  "Where 
did  you  go  up  from  ?" 

"Pratonia.  Big  fair  there.  I  was  one  of  the 
•features." 

"Then  you're  about  fifteen  miles  away,"  com- 
mented Mr.  Swift.  "You  can  hardly  get  back 
before  night.  Must  you  go  there  ?" 

"Left  my  clothes  there.  Also  a  valuable  gas 
balloon.  No  more  hot-air  ones  for  me.  Guess 
I'd  better  go  back,  and  the  aeronaut  continued  to 
speak  in  his  quick,  jerky  sentences. 

"We'd  be  very  glad  to  have  you  come  with  us, 
Mr.  Sharp,"  went  on  the  inventor.  "We  are  not 
far  from  Shopton,  and  if  you  would  like  to  remain 
over  night  I'm  sure  we  would  make  you  com- 
fortable. You  can  proceed  to  Pratonia  in  the 
morning." 

"Thanks.  Might  not  be  a  bad  idea,"  said  Mr. 
Sharp.  "I'm  obliged  to  you.  I've  got  to  go  there 
to  collect  my  money,  though  I  suppose  they  won't 
give  it  all  to  me." 

"Why  not?"  demanded  Ned. 

"Didn't  drop  from  my  parachute.  Couldn't. 
Fire  was  one  reason — couldn't  reach  the  para* 
chute,  and  if  I  could  have,  guess  it  wouldn't  have 
been  safe.  Parachute  probably  was  burned  too* 


PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP  193 

But  I'm  done  with  hot-air  balloons,  though  I  guess 
I  said  that  before." 

The  boys  were  much  interested  in  the  somewhat 
odd  performer,  and,  on  his  part,  he  seemed  to  take 
quite  a  notion  to  Tom,  who  told  him  of  several 
things  that  he  had  invented. 

"Well,"  remarked  Mr.  Swift  after  a  while,  dur- 
ing which  the  boat  had  been  moving  slowly  down 
the  lake,  "if  we  are  not  to  go  ashore  for  a  doctor 
for  you,  Mr.  Sharp,  suppose  we  put  on  more 
speed  and  get  to  my  home  ?  I'm  anxious  about  a 
robbery  that  occurred  there,"  and  he  related  some 
facts  in  the  case. 

"Speed  her  up !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Sharp.  "Wish 
I  could  help  you  catch  the  scoundrels,  but  afraid 
I  can't — hands  too  sore,"  and  he  looked  at  his 
burns.  Then  he  told  how  he  had  made  the  ascen- 
sion from  the  Pratonia  fair  grounds  and  how, 
when  he  was  high  in  the  air,  he  had  discovered 
that  the  balloon  was  on  fire.  He  described  his 
sensations  and  told  how  he  thought  his  time  had 
surely  come.  Sparks  from  the  hot  air  used  to  in- 
flate it  probably  caused  the  blaze,  he  said. 

"I've  made  a  number  of  trips,"  he  concluded, 
"hot  air  and  gas  bags,  but  this  was  the  worst  ever. 
It  got  on  my  nerves  for  a  few  minutes,"  he  added 
Coolly. 

"I  should  think  it  would,"  agreed  Tom  as  he 


194      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

speeded  up  the  motor  and  sent  the  Arrow  on  her 
homeward  way. 

The  boys  and  Mr.  Swift  were  much  interested 
in  the  experiences  of  the  balloonist  and  asked  him 
many  questions,  which  he  answered  modestly. 
Several  hours  passed  and  late  that  afternoon  the 
party  approached  Shopton. 

"Here  we  are !"  exclaimed  Mr.  Swift,  relief  in 
his  tones.  "Now  to  see  of  what  I  have  been 
robbed  and  to  get  the  police  after  the  scoundrels !" 

When  the  boat  was  nearing  the  dock  Mr.  Sharp, 
who  had  been  silent  for  some  time,  suddenly 
turned  to  Tom  and  asked : 

"Ever  invent  an  airship?" 

"No,"  replied  the  lad,  somewhat  surprised.  "I 
never  did." 

"I  have,"  went  on  the  balloonist.  "That  is,  I've 
invented  part  of  it.  I'm  stuck  over  some  details. 
Maybe  you  and  I'll  finish  it  some  day.  How 
about  it?" 

"Maybe,"  assented  Tom,  who  was  occupied  just 
then  in  making  a  good  landing.  "I  am  interested 
in  airships,  but  I  never  thought  I  could  build  one/' 

"Easiest  thing  in  the  world,"  went  on  Mr. 
Sharp,  as  if  it  was  an  everyday  matter.  "You  and 
I  will  get  busy  as  soon  as  we  clear  up  this  rob- 
bery." He  talked  as  though  he  had  been  a  friend 


PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP  195 

of  the  family  for  some  time,  for  he  had  a  genial, 
taking  manner. 

A  little  later  Mr.  Swift  was  excitedly  question- 
ing Garret  Jackson  concerning  the  robbery  and 
making  an  examination  of  the  electrical  shop  to 
discover  what  was  missing. 

"The've  taken  some  parts  of  my  gyroscope!" 
he  exclaimed,  "and  some  valuable  tools  and 
papers,  as  well  as  some  unfinished  work  that  will 
be  difficult  to  replace/' 

"Much  of  a  loss?"  asked  Mr.  Sharp  with  a 
business-like  air. 

"Well,  not  so  large  as  regards  money,"  an- 
swered the  inventor,  "but  they  took  things  I  can 
never  replace,  and  I  will  miss  them  very  much  if  I 
cannot  get  them  back." 

"Then  we'll  get  'em  back!"  snapped  the  bal- 
loonist, as  if  that  was  all  there  was  to  it. 

The  police  were  called  up  on  the  telephone  and 
the  facts  given  to  them,  as  well  as  a  description 
of  the  stolen  things.  They  promised  to  do  what 
they  could,  but,  in  the  light  of  past  experiences, 
Tom  and  his  father  did  not  think  this  would  be 
much.  There  was  little  more  that  could  be  done 
that  evening.  Ned  Newton  went  to  his  home, 
and,  after  Mr.  Swift  had  insisted  in  calling  in  his 
physician  to  look  after  Mr.  Sharp's  burns,  the 


196      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

balloonist  was  given  a  room  next  to  Tom's.  Then 
the  Swift  household  settled  down. 

"Well,"  remarked  Tom  to  his  father  as  he  got 
ready  for  bed,  "this  sure  has  been  an  exciting 
toy." 

"And  my  loss  is  a  serious  one,"  added  the  in- 
ventor somewhat  sadly. 

"Don't  worry,  dad,"  begged  his  son.  'Til  do 
my  best  to  recover  those  things  for  you." 

Several  days  passed,  but  there  was  no  clew  to 
the  thieves.  That  they  were  the  same  ones  who 
had  stolen  the  turbine  model  there  was  little  doubt, 
but  they  seemed  to  have  covered  their  tracks  well. 
The  police  were  at  a  loss,  and,  though  Tom  and 
Mr.  Sharp  cruised  about  the  lake,  they  could  get 
no  trace  of  the  men.  The  balloonist  had  sent  to 
Pratonia  for  his  clothing  and  other  baggage  and 
was  now  installed  in  the  Swift  home,  where  he 
was  invited  to  stay  a  week  or  two. 

One  night  when  he  was  looking  over  some 
papers  he  had  taken  from  his  trunk  the  balloonist 
came  over  to  where  Tom  was  making  a  drawing 
i  of  a  new  machine  he  was  planning  and  said : 

"Like  to  see  my  idea  for  an  airship  ?  Different 
from  some.  It's  a  dirigible  balloon  with  an  aero- 
plane front  and  rear  to  steer  and  balance  it  in  big 
winds.  It  would  be  a  winner,  only  for  one  thing. 
Maybe  you  can  help  me." 


PLANS  FOR  AN  AIRSHIP  197 

"Maybe  I  can,"  agreed  Tom,  who  was  at  once 
interested. 

"We  ought  to  be  able  to  do  something.  Look 
at  our  names — Swift  and  Sharp — quick  and  pene- 
trating— a  good  firm  to  build  airships,"  and  he 
laughed  genially.  "Shall  we  do  it  ?" 

"I'm  willing,"  agreed  Tom,  and  the  balloonist 
spread  his  plans  out  on  the  table,  he  and  the  young 
inventor  soon  being  deep  in  a  discussion  of  them. 


CHAPTER  XXIV 

THE   MYSTERY  SOLVED 

FROM  then  on,  for  several  days,  the  young  in- 
ventor and  his  new  friend  lived  in  an  atmosphere 
of  airships.  They  talked  them  from  morning  until 
night,  and  even  Mr.  Swift,  much  as  he  was  exer- 
cised over  his  loss,  took  part  in  the  discussions. 

In  the  meanwhile  efforts  had  not  ceased  to  lo- 
cate the  robbers  and  recover  the  stolen  goods,  but 
so  far  without  success. 

One  afternoon,  about  two  weeks  after  the  thrill- 
ing rescue  of  John  Sharp,  Tom  said  to  the  bal- 
loonist : 

"Wouldn't  you  like  to  come  for  a  ride  in  the 
motor-boat?  Maybe  it  will  help  us  to  solve  the 
puzzle  of  the  airship.  We'll  take  a  trip  across 
and  up  the  opposite  shore." 

"Good  idea,"  commented  Mr.  Sharp.  "Fine 
day  for  a  sail.  Come  on.  Blow  the  cobwebs  from 
our  brains." 

Mr.  Swift  declined  an  invitation  to  accompany 
198 


THE  MYSTERY  SOLVED  199 

them,  as  he  said  he  would  stay  home  and  try  to 
straighten  out  his  affairs,  which  were  somewhat 
muddled  by  the  robbery. 

Out  over  the  blue  waters  of  Lake  Carlopa  shot 
the  Arrow.  It  was  making  only  moderate  speed, 
as  Tom  was  in  no  hurry,  and  he  knew  his  engine 
would  last  longer  if  not  forced  too  frequently. 
They  glided  along,  crossed  the  lake  and  were  pro- 
ceeding up  the  opposite  shore  when,  as  they  turned 
out  from  a  little  bay  and  rounded  a  point  of  land, 
Mr.  Sharp  exclaimed : 

"Look  out,  Tom,  there's  rowboat  just  ahead !" 

"Oh,  I'll  pass  well  to  one  side  of  that,"  an- 
swered the  young  inventor,  looking  at  the  craft. 
As  he  did  so,  noting  that  there  were  four  men  in 
it,  one  of  the  occupants  caught  a  glimpse  of  the 
Arrow.  No  sooner  had  he  done  so  than  he  spoke 
to  his  companions,  and  they  all  turned  to  stare  at 
Tom.  At  first  the  lad  could  scarcely  believe  his 
eyes,  but  as  he  looked  more  intently  he  uttered  a 
cry. 

"There  they  are!" 

"Who?"  inquired  Mr.  Sharp. 

'Those  men — the  thieves!  We  must  catch 
them!" 

Tom  had  spoken  loudly,  but  even  though  the 
men  in  the  rowboat  did  hear  what  he  said,  they 
would  have  realized  without  that  that  they  were 


200      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

about  to  be  pursued,  for  there  was  no  mistaking 
the  attitude  of  our  hero. 

Two  of  the  thieves  were  at  the  oars,  and,  with 
one  accord,  they  at  once  increased  their  speed. 
The  boat  swung  about  sharply  and  was  headed  for 
the  shore,  which  they  seemed  to  have  come  from 
only  a  short  time  previous,  as  the  craft  was  not  far 
out  in  the  lake. 

"No,  you  don't!"  cried  Tom.  "I  see  your 
game!  You  want  to  get  to  the  woods,  where 
you'll  have  a  better  chance  to  escape !  If  this  isn't 
great  luck,  coming  upon  them  this  way !" 

It  was  the  work  of  but  a  moment  to  speed  up 
the  engine  and  head  the  Arrow  for  the  rowboat. 
The  men  were  pulling  frantically,  but  they  had  no 
chance. 

"Get  between  them  and  the  shore!"  cried  Mr. 
Sharp.  "You  can  head  them  off  then." 

This  was  good  advice  and  Tom  followed  it. 
The  men,  among  whom  the  lad  could  recognize 
Happy  Harry  and  Anson  Morse,  were  all  excited. 
Two  of  them  stood  up,  as  though  to  jump  over- 
board, but  their  companions  called  to  them  to  stop.j 

"If  we  only  had  a  gun  now,  not  to  shoot  at 
them  but  to  intimidate  them,"  murmured  the  bal- 
loonist,  "maybe  they'd  stop." 

"Here's  one,"  answered  Tom,  pointing  to  the 
seat  locker,  where  he  kept  the  shotgun  Mr.  Dun- 


THE  MYSTERY  SOLVED  2OI 

can  had  given  him.  In  a  moment  Mr.  Sharp  had 
it  out. 

"Surrender !"  he  cried,  pointing  the  weapon  at 
the  men  in  the  small  boat. 

"Don't  shoot!  Don't  fire  on  usi  We'll  give 
up!"  cried  Happy  Harry,  and  the  two  with  the 
oars  ceased  pulling. 

"Don't  take  any  chances,"  urged  Mr.  Sharp  in 
a  low  voice.  "Keep  between  them  and  the  shore. 
I'll  cover  them."  Tom  was  steering  from  an 
auxiliary  side  wheel  near  the  motor,  and  soon  the 
Arrow  had  cut  off  the  retreat  of  the  men.  They 
could  not  land  and  to  row  across  the  lake  meant 
speedy  capture. 

"Well,  what  do  you  want  of  us?"  growled 
Morse.  "What  right  have  you  got  to  interfere 
with  us  in  this  fashion  ?" 

"The  best  of  right,"  answered  Tom.  "You'll 
find  out  when  you're  landed  in  jail." 

"You  can't  arrest  us!"  sneered  Happy  Harry. 
"You're  not  an  officer  and  you  haven't  any  war- 
rant." 

Tom  hadn't  thought  of  that,  and  his  chagrin 
showed  in  his  face.  Happy  Harry  was  quick  to 
see  it. 

"You'd  better  let  us  go,"  he  threatened.  "We 
can  have  you  arrested  for  bothering  us.  You 
haven't  any  right  to  stop  us,  Tom  Swift" 


202      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

"Maybe  he  hasn't,  but  I  have!"  exclaimed  John 
Sharp  suddenly. 

"You !  Who  are  you  ?"  demanded  Featherton, 
alias  Simpson,  the  man  who  had  run  the  auto- 
mobile that  carried  Tom  away. 

"Me.  I'm  a  special  deputy  sheriff  for  this 
county/'  answered  the  balloonist  simply.  "Here's 
my  badge,"  and,  throwing  back  his  coat,  he  dis- 
played it.  "You  see  I  got  the  appointment  in  or- 
der to  have  some  authority  in  the  crowds  that 
gather  to  watch  me  go  up,"  he  explained  to  Tom, 
who  plainly  showed  his  astonishment.  "I  found 
it  very  useful  to  be  able  to  threaten  arrest,  but  in 
this  case  I'll  do  more  than  threaten.  You  are  my 
prisoners,"  he  went  on  to  the  men  in  the  boat,  and 
he  handled  the  shotgun  as  if  he  knew  how  to  use 
it.  "I'll  take  you  into  custody  on  complaint  of 
Mr.  Swift  for  robbery.  Now  will  you  go  quietly 
or  are  you  going  to  make  a  fuss  ?"  and  Mr.  Sharp 
shut  his  jaw  grimly. 

"Well,  seeing  as  how  you  have  the  drop  on  us, 
I  guess  we'll  have  to  do  as  you  say,"  admitted 
Happy  Harry,  alias  Jim  Burke.  "But  you  can't 
prove  anything  against  us.  We  haven't  any  ot 
Mr.  Swift's  property." 

"Well,  you  know  where  it  is  then,"  retorted 
Tom  quickly. 

Under  the  restraining  influence  of  the  gun  the 


THE  MYSTERY  SOLVED  203 

men  made  no  resistance.  While  Mr.  Sharp  cov- 
ered them,  Tom  towed  their  boat  toward  shore. 
Then,  while  the  young  inventor  held  the  gun,  the 
balloonist  tied  the  hands  and  feet  of  the  thieves  in 
a  most  scientific  manner,  for  what  he  did  not 
know  about  ropes  and  knots  was  not  worth  putting 
into  a  book. 

"Now,  I  guess  they'll  stay  quiet  for  a  while," 
remarked  Mr.  Sharp  as  he  surveyed  the  crestfallen 
criminals.  "I'll  remain  on  guard  here,  Tom, 
while  you  go  notify  the  nearest  constable  and  we'll 
take  them  to  jail.  We  bagged  the  whole  lot  as 
neatly  as  could  be  desired." 

"No,  you  didn't  get  all  of  us!"  exclaimed 
Happy  Harry,  and  there  was  a  savage  anger  in 
his  tones. 

"Keep  quiet !"  urged  Morse. 

"No,  I'll  not  keep  quiet !  It's  a  shame  that  we 
have  to  take  our  medicine  while  that  trimmer,  Tod 
Boreck,  goes  free.  He  ought  to  have  been  with 
us,  and  he  would  be,  only  he's  trying  to  get  away 
with  that  sparkler !" 

"Keep  quiet,"  again  urged  Morse. 

Tom  was  all  attention.  He  had  caught  the 
word  "sparkler,"  and  he  at  once  associated  it  with 
the  occasion  he  had  heard  the  men  use  it  before. 
He  felt  that  he  was  on  the  track  of  solving  the 
mystery  connected  with  his  boat. 


204      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

He  looked  at  the  men.  They  were  the  same 
four  who  had  been  involved  in  the  former  theft — 
Appleson,  Featherton,  Morse  and  Burke.  Were 
there  five  of  them  ?  He  recalled  the  man  who  had 
been  caught  tampering  with  his  boat — the  man 
who  had  tried  to  bid  on  the  Arrow  at  the  auction. 
Where  was  he  ? 

"Boreck  didn't  get  what  he  was  after,"  resumed 
Happy  Harry,  "and  I'm  going  to  spoil  his  game 
for  him.  Say,  kid,"  he  went  on  to  Tom,  "look  in 
the  front  part  of  your  boat — where  the  gasoline 
tank  is." 

Tom  felt  his  heart  beating  fast.  At  last  he  felt 
that  he  would  solve  the  puzzle.  He  opened  the 
forward  compartment.  To  his  disappointment  it 
seemed  as  usual.  Morse  and  the  others  were 
making  a  vain  effort  to  silence  Happy  Harry. 

"I  don't  see  anything  here,"  said  Tom. 

"No,  because  it's  hidden  in  one  of  those  blocks 
of  wood  you  use  for  a  brace,"  continued  the  man. 
"Which  one  it  is,  Boreck  didn't  know,  so  he  pulled 
out  two  or  three,  only  to  be  fooled  each  time.  You 
must  have  shifted  them,  kid,  from  the  way  they 
were  when  we  had  the  boat." 

"I  did,"  answered  the  young  inventor,  recollect- 
ing how  he  had  taken  out  some  of  the  braces  and 
inserted  new  ones,  then  painted  the  interior  of  the 
compartment.  "What  is  in  the  braces,  anyhow?" 


THE  MYSTERY  SOLVED  2O$ 

"The  sparkler — a  big  diamond — in  a  hollow 
place  in  the  wood,  kid !"  exclaimed  Happy  Harry, 
blurting  out  the  words.  "I'm  not  going  to  let  Tod 
Boreck  get  away  with  it  while  we  stay  in  jail." 

"Take  out  all  the  braces  that  haven't  been 
moved  and  have  a  look,"  suggested  Mr.  Sharp. 
Tom  only  had  to  remove  two,  those  farthest  back, 
for  all  the  others  had,  at  one  time  or  another,  been 
changed  or  taken  away  by  the  thief. 

One  of  the  blocks  did  not  seem  to  have  anything 
unusual  about  it,  but  at  the  sight  of  the  other  Tom 
could  not  repress  a  cry.  It  was  the  one  that  seemed 
to  have  had  a  hole  bored  in  it  and  then  plugged  up 
again.  He  remembered  his  father  noticing  it  on 
the  occasion  of  overhauling  the  boat. 

"The  sparkler's  in  there,"  said  the  tramp  as  he 
saw  the  brace.  "Boreck  was  after  it  several  times, 
but  he  never  pulled  out  the  right  one." 

With  his  knife  Tom  dug  out  the  putty  that 
covered  the  round  hole  in  the  block.  No  sooner 
had  he  done  so  than  there  rolled  out  into  his  hand 
a  white  object.  It  was  something  done  up  in 
tissue  paper,  and  as  he  removed  the  wrapper,  then 
was  a  flash  in  the  sunlight  and  a  large,  beautiful 
diamond  was  revealed.  The  mystery  had  been 
solved. 


CHAPTER  XXV 

WINNING  A  RACE 

"WHERE  did  this  diamond  come  from?"  de- 
manded Mr.  Sharp  of  the  quartette  of  criminals. 

"That's  for  us  to  know  and  you  to  find  out," 
sneered  Happy  Harry.  "I  don't  care  as  long  as 
that  trimmer  Boreck  didn't  get  it.  He  tried  to 
do  us  out  of  our  share." 

"Well,  I  guess  the  police  will  make  you  tell," 
went  on  the  balloonist.  "Go  for  the  constable, 
Tom." 

Leaving  his  friend  to  guard  the  ugly  men,  who. 
for  a  time  at  least,  were  beyond  the  possibility  of 
doing  harm,  Tom  hurried  off  through  the  woods 
to  the  nearest  village.  There  he  found  an  officer 
and  the  gang  was  soon  lodged  in  jail.  The  dia- 
mond was  turned  over  to  the  authorities,  who  said 
they  would  soon  locate  the  owner. 

Nor  were  they  long  in  doing  it,  for  it  appeared 
the  gem  was  part  of  a  large  jewel  robbery  that  had 
taken  place  some  time  before  in  a  distant  city. 
The  Happy  Harry  gang,  as  the  men  came  to  be 

206 


WINNING  A  RACE  2O? 

called,  were  implicated  in  it,  though  they  got  only 
a  small  share  of  the  plunder.  Search  was  made 
for  Tod  Boreck  and  he  was  captured  about  a  week 
after  his  companions.  Seeing  that  their  game  was 
up,  the  men  made  a  partial  confession,  telling 
where  Mr.  Swift's  goods  had  been  secreted,  and 
the  inventor's  valuable  tools^  papers  and  machin* 
ery  were  recovered,  no  damage  having  been  done 
to  them. 

It  developed  that  after  the  diamond  theft,  and 
when  the  gang  still  had  possession  of  Mr.  Hast- 
ings' boat,  Boreck,  sometimes  called  Murdock  by 
his  cronies,  unknown  to  them,  had  secreted  the 
jewel  in  one  of  the  braces  under  the  gasoline  tank. 
He  expected  to  get  it  out  secretly,  but  the  capture 
of  the  gang  and  the  sale  of  the  boat  prevented 
this.  Then  he  tried  to  buy  the  craft  to  take  out 
the  diamond,  but  Tom  overbid  him.  It  was 
Boreck  who  found  Andy's  bunch  of  keys  and  used 
one  to  open  the  compartment  lock  when  Tom  sur- 
prised him.  The  man  did  manage  to  remove  some 
of  the  blocks,  thinking  he  had  the  one  with  the 
diamond  in  it,  but  the  fact  of  Tom  changing  them 
and  painting  the  compartment  deceived  him.  The 
gang  hoped  to  get  some  valuables  from  Mr. 
Swift's  shops,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  succeeded 
after  hanging  around  for  several  nights  and  fol- 
lowing him  to  Sandport,  but  Tom  eventually 


208      TOM  SWIFT  'AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

proved  too  much  for  them.  Even  stealing  the  Ar- 
row, which  was  taken  to  aid  the  gang  in  robbing 
Mr.  Swift,  did  not  succeed,  and  Boreck's  plan  then 
to  get  possession  of  the  diamond  fell  through. 

It  was  thought  that  the  gang  would  get  long 
terms  in  prison,  but  one  night,  during  a  violent 
storm,  they  escaped  from  the  local  jail  and  that 
was  the  last  seen  of  them  for  some  time. 

A  few  days  after  the  capture  as  Tom  was  in 
the  boathouse  making  some  minor  repairs  to  the 
motor  he  heard  a  voice  calling : 

"Mistah  Swift,  am  yo'  about?" 

"Hello,  Rad,  is  that  you  ?"  he  inquired,  recog- 
nizing the  voice  of  the  colored  owner  of  the  mule 
Boomerang. 

"Yais,  sa,  dat's  me.  I  got  a  lettah  fo'  yo'.  I 
were  passing'  de  post-office  an'  de  clerk  asted  me 
to  brung  it  to  you'  'case  as  how  it's  marked 
'hurry,'  an'  he  said  he  hadn't  seen  yo'  to-day." 

"That's  right.  I've  been  so  busy  I  haven't  had 
time  to  go  for  the  mail,"  and  Tom  took  the  letter, 
giving  Eradicate  ten  cents  for  his  trouble. 

"Ha,  that's  good!"  exclaimed  Tom  as  he 
read  it. 

"Hab  some  one  done  gone  an'  left  yo'  a  fortune, 
Mistah  Swift?"  asked  the  negro. 

"No,  but  it's  almost  as  good.    It's  an  invitation 


WINNING  A  RACE  209 

to  take  part  in  the  motor-boat  races  next  week. 
I'd  forgotten  all  about  them.  I  must  get  ready." 

"Good  land!  Dat's  all  de  risin*  generation 
t'inks  about  now,"  observed  Eradicate,  "racin' 
an*  goin'  fast.  Mah  ole  mule  Boomerang  am 
good  enough  fo'  me/'  and,  shaking  his  head  in  a 
woeful  manner,  Eradicate  went  on  his  way. 

Tom  told  Mr.  Sharp  and  his  father  of  the  pro- 
posed races  of  the  Lanton  Motor-Boat  Club,  and, 
as  it  was  required  that  two  persons  be  in  a  craft 
the  size  of  the  Arrow,  the  young  inventor  ar- 
ranged for  the  balloonist  to  accompany  him.  Our 
hero  spent  the  next  few  days  in  tuning  up  his 
motor  and  in  getting  the  Arrow  ready  for  the 
contest 

The  races  took  place  on  that  side  of  Lake  Car- 
lopa  near  where  Mr.  Hastings  lived,  and  he  was 
one  of  the  officials  of  the  club.  There  were  several 
classes,  graded  according  to  the  horse-power  of 
the  motors,  and  Tom  found  himself  in  a  class  with 
Andy  Foger. 

"Here's  where  I  beat  you,"  boasted  the  red- 
haired  youth  exultantly,  though  his  manner  to- 
ward Tom  was  more  temperate  than  usual.  And) 
had  learned  a  lesson. 

"Well,  if  you  can  beat  me  I'll  give  you  credit  for 
it,"  answered  Tom. 

The  first  race  was  for  high-powered  craft,  and 


210      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

in  this  Mr.  Hastings'  new  Carlopa  won.  Their 
came  the  trial  of  the  small  boats,  and  Tom  was 
pleased  to  note  that  Miss  Nestor  was  on  hand  in 
the  tiny  Dot. 

"Good  luck !"  he  called  to  her  as  he  was  adjust* 
ing  his  timer,  for  his  turn  would  come  soon.  "Re- 
member what  I  told  you  about  the  spark,"  for  he 
had  given  her  a  few  lessons. 

"If  I  win  it  will  be  due  to  you,"  she  called 
brightly. 

She  did  win,  coming  in  ahead  of  several  con- 
fident lads  who  had  better  boats.  But  Miss  Nestor 
handled  the  Dot  to  perfection  and  crossed  the  line 
a  boat's  length  ahead  of  her  nearest  competitor. 

"Fine !"  cried  Tom,  and  then  came  the  warning 
gun  that  told  him  to  get  ready  for  his  trial. 

This  was  a  five-mile  race  and  had  several  en- 
trants. The  affair  was  a  handicap  one  and  Tom 
had  no  reason  to  complain  of  the  rating  allowed 
him. 

"Crack!"  went  the  starting  pistol  and  away 
went  Tom  and  one  or  two  others  who  had  the 
same  allowance  as  did  he.  A  little  later  the  others 
started  and  finally  the  last  class,  including  Andy 
Foger.  The  Red  Streak  shot  ahead  and  was  soon 
in  the  lead,  for  Andy  and  Sam  had  learned  better 
how  to  handle  their  craft.  Tom  and  Mr.  Sharp 
were  worried,  but  they  stuck  grimly  to  the  race 


WINNING  A  RACE  211 

and  when  the  turning  stake  was  reached  Tom's 
motor  had  so  warmed  up  and  was  running  so  well 
that  he  crept  up  on  Andy.  A  mile  from  the  final 
mark  Andy  and  Tom  were  on  even  terms,  and 
though  the  red-haired  lad  tried  to  shake  off  his 
rival  he  could  not.  Andy's  ignition  system  failed 
him  several  times  and  he  changed  from  batteries  to 
magneto  and  back  again  in  the  hope  of  getting  a 
little  more  speed  out  of  the  motor. 

But  it  was  not  to  be.  A  half  mile  away  from 
the  finish  Tom,  who  had  fallen  behind  a  little, 
crept  up  on  even  terms.  Then  he  slowly  forged 
ahead,  and,  a  hundred  rods  from  the  stake,  the 
young  inventor  knew  that  the  race  was  his.  He 
clinched  it  a  few  minutes  later,  crossing  the  line 
amid  a  burst  of  cheers.  The  Arrow  had  beaten 
several  boats  out  of  her  own  class  and  Tom  was 
v*>ry  proud  and  happy. 

"My,  but  we  certainly  did  scoot  along  some!" 
cried  Mr.  Sharp.  "But  that's  nothing  to  how  we'll 
go  when  we  build  our  airship,  eh,  Tom  ?"  and  he 
looked  at  the  flushed  face  of  the  lad. 

"No,  indeed,"  agreed  the  young  inventor.  "But 
I  don't  know  that  we'll  take  part  in  any  races  in  it. 
We'll  build  it,  however,  as  soon  as  we  can  solve 
that  one  difficulty." 

They  did  solve  it,  as  will  be  told  in  the  next 
book  of  this  series,  to  be  called  "Tom  Swift  and 


212      TOM  SWIFT  AND  HIS  MOTOR-BOAT 

His  Airship;  or,  The  Stirring  Cruise  of  the  Red 
Cloud!'  They  had  some  remarkable  adventures 
in  the  wonderful  craft,  and  solved  the  mystery  of 
a  great  bank  robbery. 

This  ended  the  contests  of  the  motor-boats  and 
the  little  fleet  crowded  up  to  the  floats  and  docks, 
where  the  prizes  were  to  be  awarded.  Tom  re- 
ceived a  handsome  silver  cup  and  Miss  Nestor  a 
gold  bracelet. 

"Now  I  want  all  the  contestants,  winners  and 
losers,  to  come  up  to  my  house  and  have  lunch," 
invited  Mr.  Hastings. 

As  Tom  and  the  balloonist  strolled  up  the  walk 
to  the  handsome  house  Andy  Foger  passed  them. 

"You  wouldn't  have  beaten  me  if  my  spark  coil 
hadn't  gone  back  on  me,"  he  said,  somewhat 
sneeringly. 

"Maybe,"  admitted  Tom,  and  just  then  be 
caught  sight  of  Mary  Nestor.  "May  I  take  you 
in  to  lunch  ?"  he  asked. 

"Yes,"  she  said,  "because  you  helped  me  to 
win,"  and  she  blushed  prettily.  And  then  they  all 
sat  down  to  the  tables  set  out  on  the  lawn,  while 
Tom  looked  so  often  at  Mary  Nestor  that  Mr. 
Sharp  said  afterward  it  was  a  wonder  he  found 
time  to  eat.  But  Tom  didn't  care.  He  was  happy. 

THE  END 


THE  DON  STURDY  SERIES 

By  VICTOR  APPLETON 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers  and  Text  Illustrations  bj 

WALTER  S.  ROGERS 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

In  company  with  his  uncles,  one  a  mighty  hunter  and 
the  other  a  noted  scientist,  Don  Sturdy  travels  far  and 
wide,  gaming  much  useful  knowledge  and  meeting  many 
thrilling  adventures. 

DON  STURDY  ON  THE  DESERT  OF 
MYSTERY; 

An  engrossing  tale  of  the  Sahara  Desert,  of  encounters  with 
wild  animals  and  crafty  Arabs. 

DON  STURDY  WITH  THE  BIG  SNAKE 
HUNTERS; 

Don's  uncle,  the  hunter,  took  an  order  for  some  of  the  biggest 
snakes  to  be  found  in  South  America — to  be  delivered  alive! 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  TOMBS  OF  GOLD; 

A  fascinating  tale  of  exploration  and  adventure  in  the  Valley 
of  Kings  in  Egypt. 

DON  STURDY  ACROSS  THE  NORTH  POLE; 

A  great  polar  blizzard  nearly  wrecks  the  airship  of  the 
explorers. 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  LAND  OF  VOLCANOES ; 

An  absorbing  tale  of  adventures  among  the  volcanoes  of 
Alaska. 

DON  STURDY  IN  THE  PORT  OF  LOST  SHIPS  ; 

This  story  is  just  full  of  exciting  and  fearful  experiences  on 
the  sea. 

DON  STURDY  AMONG  THE  GORILLAS; 

A  thrilling  story  of  adventure  in  darkest  Africa.     Don  is 
carried  over  a  mighty  waterfall  into  the  heart  of  gorilla  land. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


TDHE  RADIO  BOYS  SERIES 

(Trademark  Registered) 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 
Author  of  the  "Railroad  Series,"  Etc. 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers.     Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

A  new  series  for  boys  giving  full  details  of  radio  work, 
both  in  sending  and  receiving — telling  how  small  and 
large  amateur  sets  can  be  made  and  operated,  and  how 
some  boys  got  a  lot  of  fun  and  adventure  out  of  what  they 
3id.  Each  volume  from  first  to  last  is  so  thoroughly  fas- 
cinating, so  strictly  up-to-date  and  accurate,  we  feel  sure 
all  lads  will  peruse  them  with  great  delight. 

Each  volume  has  a  Foreword  by  Jack  Binns,  the  well- 
known  radio  expert. 

THE  RADIO  BOYS'  FIRST  WIRELESS 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  OCEAN  POINT 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  THE  SENDING 

STATION 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  AT  MOUNTAIN  PASS 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  TRAILING  A  VOICE 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FOREST 

RANGERS 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  ICEBERG 

PATROL 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  WITH  THE  FLOOD 

FIGHTERS 

THE  RADIO  BOYS  ON  SIGNAL  ISLAND 
THE  RADIO  BOYS  IN  GOLD  VALLEY 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


THE  RAILROAD  SERIES 

By  ALLEN  CHAPMAN 

Author  of  the  "Radio  Boys,"  Etc. 

Uniform  Style  of  Binding.    Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

In  this  line  of  books  there  is  revealed  the  whole  workings 
of  a  great  American  railroad  system.  There  are  adventures 
in  abundance — railroad  wrecks,  dashes  through  forest  fires, 
the  pursuit  of  a  "wildcat"  locomotive,  the  disappearance  of 
a  pay  car  with  a  large  sum  of  money  on  board — but  there 
is  much  more  than  this — the  intense  rivalry  among  railroads 
and  railroad  men,  the  working  out  of  running  schedules, 
the  getting  through  "on  time"  in  spite  of  all  obstacles,  and 
the  manipulation  of  railroad  securities  by  evil  men  who 
wish  to  rule  or  ruin. 

RALPH  OF  THE  ROUND  HOUSE; 
Or,  Bound  to  Become  a  Railroad  Man. 

RALPH  IN  THE  SWITCH  TOWER; 
Or,  Clearing  the  Track. 

RALPH  ON  THE  ENGINE; 

Or,  The  Young  Fireman  of  the  Limited  Mail. 

RALPH  ON  THE  OVERLAND  EXPRESS; 

Or,  The  Trials  and  Triumphs  of  a  Young  Engineer. 

RALPH,  THE  TRAIN  DISPATCHER; 
Or,  the  Mystery  of  the  Pay  Car. 

RALPH  ON  THE  ARMY  TRAIN; 

Or,  The  Young  Railroader's  Most  Daring  Exploit. 

RALPH  ON  THE  MIDNIGHT  FLYER; 
Or,  The  Wreck  at  Shadow  Valley. 

RALPH  AND  THE  MISSING  MAIL  POUCH; 
Or,  The  Stolen  Government  Bonds. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


THE  RIDDLE  CLUB    BOOKS 

By  ALICE  DALE  HARDY 

Individual  Colored  Wrappers.     Attractively  Illustrated. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Here  is  as  ingenious  a  series  of  books  for  little  folks  as 
has  ever  appeared  since  "  Alice  in  Wonderland."  The  idea 
of  the  Riddle  books  is  a  little  group  of  children — three  girls 
and  three  boys  decide  to  form  a  riddle  club.  Each  book  is 
full  of  the  adventures  and  doings  of  these  six  youngsters, 
but  as  an  added  attraction  each  book  is  rilled  with  a  lot  of 
the  best  riddles  you  ever  heard. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  AT  HOME 

An  absorbing  tale  that  all  boys  and  girls  will  enjoy  reading. 
How  the  members  of  the  club  fixed  up  aclubroom  in  the  Larue 
barn,  and  how  they,  later  on,  helped  solve  a  most  mysterious 
happening,  and  how  one  of  the  members  won  a  valuable  prize, 
is  told  in  a  manner  to  please  every  young  reader. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  IN  CAMP 

The  club  members  went  into  camp  on  the  edge  of  a  beautiful 
lake.  Here  they  had  rousing  good  times  swimming,  boating 
and  around  the  campfire.  They  fell  in  with  a  mysterious  old  man 
known  as  The  Hermit  of  Triangle  Island.  Nobody  knew  his 
real  name  or  where  he  came  from  until  the  propounding  of  a 
riddle  solved  these  perplexing  questions. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  THROUGH  THE 

HOLIDAYS 

This  volume  takes  in  a  great  number  of  winter  sports,  includ- 
ing skating  and  sledding  and  the  building  of  a  huge  snowman. 
It  also  gives  the  particulars  of  how  the  club  treasurer  lost  the 
dues  entrusted  to  his  care  and  what  the  melting  of  the  great 
snowman  revealed. 

THE  RIDDLE  CLUB  AT  SUNRISE  BEACH 

This  volume  tells  how  the  club  journeyed  to  the  seashore  ana 
how  they  not  only  kept  up  their  riddles  but  likewise  had  good 
times  on  the  sand  and  on  the  water.  Once  they  got  lost  in  a  fog 
and  are  marooned  on  an  island.  Here  they  made  a  discovery 
that  greatly  pleased  the  folks  at  home. 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,   PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


THE    FLYAWAYS    STORIES 

By  ALICE  DALE  HARDY 
Author  of  The  Riddle  Ckb  Books 

Individual  Colored  Jacket*  and  Colored  Hlu.trations  by 
WALTER  S.  ROGERS 

A  splendid  new  line  of  interesting  tales  for  the  little 
ones,  introducing  many  of  the  well  known  characters  of 
fairyland  in  a  series  of  novel  adventures.  The  Flyaways 
are  a  happy  family  and  every  little  girl  and  boy  will  want 
to  know  all  about  them. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  CINDERELLA 

How  the  Flyaways  went  to  visit  Cinderella  only  to  find  that  Cinderella's 
Prince  had  been  carried  off  by  the  Three  Robbers,  Rumba,  Hibo  and  Jobo. 
"  I'll  rescue  him  !  "  cried  Pa  Flyaway  and  then  set  out  tor  the  stronghold  of 
the  robbers.  A  splendid  continuation  of  the  original  story  of  Cinderella. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  LITTLE  RED  RIDING 

HOOD 

On  their  way  to  visit  Little  Red  Riding  Hood  the  Flyaway*  fell  in  with 
Tommy  Tucker  and  The  Old  Woman  Who  Lived  in  a  Shoe.  They  told 
Tommy  about  the  Magic  Button  on  Red  Riding  Hood's  cloak.  How  the 
wicked  Wolf  stole  the  Magic  Button  and  how  the  wolves  plotted  to  eat  up 
Little  Red  Riding  Hood  and  all  her  family,  and  how  the  Flyaways  and 
King  Cole  sent  the  wolves  flying,  makes  a  story  no  children  will  want  to  miss. 

THE  FLYAWAYS  AND  GOLDILOCKS 

The  Flyaway*  wanted  to  see  not  only  Goldilocks  but  also  the  Three 
Bears  and  they  took  a  remarkable  journey  through  the  air  to  do  so.  Tommy 
even  rode  on  a  Rocket  and  met  the  monstrous  Blue  Frog.  When  they 
arrived  at  Goldilock's  house  they  found  that  the  Three  Bears  had  been  there 
before  them  and  mussed  everything  up,  much  to  Goldilock's  despair.  "  We 
must  drive  those  bears  out  of  the  country !  "  said  Pa  Flyaway,  Then  they 
journeyed  underground  to  the  Yellow  Palace,  and  oh !  so  many  things  hap- 
pened olid  'that  I 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    PUBLISHERS,  NEW  YORK 


Jerry  Todd  and  Poppy  Ott  Series 

BY  LEO  EDWARDS 

Durably  Bound.     Illustrated.     Individual  Colored  Wrappers. 
Every  Volume  Complete  in  Itself. 

Hundreds  of  thousands  of  boys  who  laughed  until  their 
sides  ached  over  the  weird  and  wonderful  adventures  of 
Jerry  Todd  and  his  gang  demanded  that  Leo  Edwards, 
the  author,  give  them  more  books  like  the  Jerry  Todd 
stories  with  their  belt-bursting  laughs  and  creepy  shivers. 
So  he  took  Poppy  Ott,  Jerry  Todd's  bosom  chum  and. 
created  the  Poppy  Ott  Series,  and  if  such  a  thing  could  be 
possible — they  are  even  more  full  of  fun  and  excitement; 
than  the  Jerry  Todds. 

THE  POPPY  OTT  SERIES 

POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  STUTTERING  PARROT 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  SEVEN  LEAGUE  STILTS 
POPPY  OTT  AND  THE  GALLOPING  SNAIL 
POPPY  OTTS  PEDIGREED  PICKLES 

THE  JERRY  TODD  BOOKS 

JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WHISPERING  MUMMY, 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  ROSE-COLORED  CAT 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  OAK  ISLAND  TREASURE 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  WALTZING  HEfifc* 
JERRY  TODD  AND  THE  TALKING  FROG 
f  ERRY  TODD  AND  THE  PURRING  EGG 
JERRY  TODD  IN  THE  WHISPERING  CAVE 

GROSSET  &  DUNLAP,    Publishers,    NEW  YORK 


PZ 
7 


